Everchanging Paths
by xfsHime
Summary: Orihime receives some bad news from Urahara that will change her life forever. How will she deal with it and how can Ichigo help her?
1. The Path that Branched

**Hi guys! Thanks for checking out my FanFic^_^**

**This is my first fic that I've decided I really want to work on so I'm uploading it -I've started quite a few but haven't done much.  
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**This is an IchiHime fic, so if you don't like this pairing, then please turn away now!  
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**I'm hoping for this fic to be at least 6 chapters long as I already have an idea of where I want it to go.  
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**Oh yeah and I don't own Bleach, if I did Grimmjow would be back already.  
**

"Inoue-san, please wait!"

Orihime slammed the sliding doors of the small town shop open, ignoring the owner's plea to stop and continuing to run as hastily as she could.

Her vision had blurred from the tears that had already started to fall, Urahara's words resounding inside her head.

"_Inoue-san, how are you feeling?" Orihime squinted towards the direction of the voice as she came around. Urahara was knelt beside her looking more sombre than usual. As she looked around she recognised the familiar panelled walls of his shop. She sat herself up, becoming aware of a dull ache in her chest that caught her breath making her cough. _

_Urahara reached over and patted her back gently. _

"_Thank you Urahara-san," she gave him a weak smile and rubbed her chest. There were no bandages so she must have just been hit hard there. "Hmm, my chest is a little sore but everything else seems to be fine!" She wiggled her bare toes and tapped her head lightly with her knuckles letting out a little laugh. _

_Urahara's face flinched, and he closed his eyes slowly, taking in a deep breath preparing himself._

"_Inoue-san, I'm afraid that I have some bad news for you, you are not as fine as you seem." Orihime looked at him questioningly, completely unprepared for what was about to come. "When you were fighting those hollows earlier, I'm afraid one of them managed to sneak up on you, and although you detected it at the last second, it managed to disconnect your soul from your body by pushing your soul with such force. Before I could stop it your chain attaching you to your real body got broken." _

_Orihime's eyes had widened and she was now crying silently, her hands trembling, covering her mouth in horror._

"_Are…are you saying…that I…I'm d-dead?" Her words were muffled from coming out between her fingers, but still decipherable. She was scared, had her life really ended just like that? _

_Urahara looked her in the eye, "No. Don't worry you're not dead, I managed to save you." Orihime sobbed into her hands in relief, murmuring numerous 'thank god's'. "Inoue-san, I'm sorry but, although I did manage to save your life, I'm afraid that because your chain had shortened so much in that space of time, you began to Hollowfy. Inoue-san, I'm afraid to tell you that.." before he'd had a chance to finish she'd already scrambled clumsily to her feet and ran._

Urahara hadn't needed to finish what he was going to say. She'd heard from Ichigo himself one time when he'd explained to her why he had his hollow side.

But she'd felt her stomach drop at his words, her senses becoming numb like they weren't her own. How could something like this have happened to her?

Her legs felt like lead but she willed herself to keep running, her breath beginning to get caught in her throat, she gasped for air but her lungs ached greedily for more.

She eventually reached her apartment door after racing up the steps. She fumbled with her keys to open the lock on her door, a task made harder by her hands that wouldn't stop shaking. After five or so attempts she managed to get the key into the lock, which clicked open letting her shove her way past the door as soon as there was a gap large enough to let her through, then she re-shut it. She ran straight over to her bed and flung herself on top of it.

Tucking her arms under the pillow she buried her face into it, breathing in the smell of her orange and mango shampoo that had soaked into it, trying to let something else intoxicate her mind, but her salty tears were now also mixing into it, the warm damp irritating to feel on her skin but she didn't move her face away, her tears were a sign that she was still human.

Orihime felt her heart beat jitter as she wondered to herself how much longer she would stay so human, and if she would stay human at all. Thoughts like this swam through her head, which only caused her to cry more, which she continued to do until she eventually drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Orihime awoke to the sound of a visitor knocking on her door. She blinked a few times to clear her vision, her eyes gazing blearily around her room. It took her only a few moments to remember the day's earlier events, her stomach feeling achingly empty as she placed her delicate hand on top of her chest.

Hearing another knock on the door she turned onto her front, burying her face into the futon and pulling her pillow over her head. She wasn't in the mood to see anyone right now. She concentrated for a moment to sense who it was at her door, and was surprised to find that it was Ichigo. She gritted her teeth. Normally seeing him was enough to brighten her day, but she couldn't bear to face him like this.

"Inoue? Inoue please open the door." His voice sounded out of breath as he continued to knock on the door, each knock becoming rapidly louder. She pulled the pillow harder over her head, trying to just block it out.

"Inoue, I know you're in there, I can feel your reiatsu!" There was a hint of a growl in his voice as he began to feel agitated, not necessarily with her, but with the fact that he really wanted to be there for her right now, and she wasn't letting anybody in, not even him. He thought that he was at least more important to her than Urahara, but that clearly wasn't the case. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist on the door. "FUCK!" He slammed his fist harder on the door.

The cursing and the bang caused Orihime to flinch. She couldn't believe that she was making him act like this. She felt the tears coming on again and buried her face into her futon.

Next thing she knew a pair of calloused hands had grabbed her by the arms and lifted and turned her into a sitting position.

Her eyes had become puffy and red from the crying, the usual warm brown irises were now dull and lifeless as they met with a pair of fierce bronze tinted brown eyes.

She looked past Ichigo to the door to see that he had broken his way through on that last bang on the door.

"Inoue…" his voice had become gentle upon finding her in such a state. It hurt him to see her like this. Along with her puffy eyes, her hair was a mess and she'd obviously fell asleep, still in her daywear.

He suddenly became aware of how small and fragile she was.

"Inoue…are you okay?" She looked back to him as he continued to survey her. She could feel the slight shake in his hands that were still gripping her firmly. She wrapped her small hands around his wrists, confirming to herself that he was really there, a solid entity that she needed right now. She hung her head and began to cry out loud.

"I…I'm just so scared. I have th-this thing…inside me," she clutched the shirt over her chest, "…I don't want it…it d-disgusts me." She got her words out in broken breaths, trying and failing to stop her sobbing.

The sound of her crying tore through Ichigo like a blade. But at the same time her words made his stomach churn. Was this how she saw him? Did he still scare her? Was he disgusting to her?

Orihime felt Ichigo's grip weaken on her, she glanced up and saw that his face was contorted and he was no longer looking at her. She instantaneously knew what was going through his head, he could be so easy for her to read sometimes, and she regretted what she said though she had meant no ill harm to him.

"K-Kurosaki-kun, no that's not what I mean…I-I could never see you th-that way. Nothing you do could ever scare me again. It's just th-that, it's another reminder of what happened to my brother. Having this…hollow side of me, it's going to be like a constant reminder of it…every day." She sniffed loudly, hoping that he would understand. She loved him; there was nothing about him that could ever falter that.

Ichigo cursed to himself. Of course…her brother. Ichigo felt a wave of relief flow through him.

He looked back into her eyes, and brushed the stray strands of hair away from her face then gripped her shoulders.

"Inoue, I'll help you get through this. I promise you. I won't let anything bad happen to you." His voice was so sincere and full of promise, his eyes became bright with amber tints, Orihime knew he meant each word. For the first time since finding out about her fate, she felt some relief. Maybe everything wasn't going to be as bad as she initially thought, but still bad. She managed a small smile.

"Th-thank you K-Kurosaki-kun."


	2. The Start of the Path

**Phew. Okay guys so here's chapter two. Thank you for the reviews on chapter one! This is my first fanfic so I was nervous to upload it but I'm glad people seem to like it. Writing this chapter took longer than I thought it would.**

**Just a few notes: Time wise, this story takes place after the fullbring arc. I forgot to mention it in chapter one, but I'm trying to keep Ichigo and Orihime as in character as possible.  
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**I don't own Bleach (unfortunately).  
**

* * *

Ichigo glanced down at Orihime, who was standing beside him in front of Urahara's store looking lost in thought. After Orihime had calmed down the night before, Ichigo had persuaded her to come with him to see Urahara the next day. Reluctant at first, she eventually agreed, deciding it was better to get this dealt with sooner rather than later.

Ichigo had stayed with her until she managed to fall asleep again, repeating the promise he'd made to her over and over inside his head. It tormented him that he hadn't been around to protect her, to prevent this from even happening. He didn't want her to go through the same anguish that he had.

He placed his hand on her shoulder gently. "Inoue, don't worry it's going to be fine," Orihime looked back up at him, taking in his small smile of reassurance. She turned to face the same oak door she had slammed open in haste just the day before.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly, steadying her nerves. When her eyes opened her expression had changed to that of determination, causing Ichigo to smile to himself.

He slid the door open and they stepped in, and proceeded to walk across the room to the back of the store.

Urahara was waiting for them in one of the back rooms, his usual careless jovialness spread over his face as he waved his fan around beckoning them to join him around the table.

"Kurosaki-san, Inoue-san, how nice to see you both," he grinned broadly at them continuing to wave his fan at them. "How are you both on this fine day? Would you like some tea?"

Ichigo and Orihime returned his greeting then proceeded to sit side by side opposite Urahara and took the tea that he offered them.

"How can I be of help to you both?"

Ichigo gave him a stern look, "Urahara I think you know why we're here, we need information on Inoue's…" he glanced at her "…condition."

Orihime fidgeted with the hem of her skirt, mentally thanking Ichigo for not putting it bluntly.

Urahara's expression became serious, understanding that they just wanted to get straight into it. He snapped his fan shut and placed his hands in his lap. "Inoue-san, am I correct in saying that you already have the basic knowledge on this situation? About hollows that have invaded a persons soul?"

Orihime nodded whilst Ichigo added "Plus she has first hand experience after being with me in Hueco Mundo." Orihime peeked up at Ichigo. They'd never really spoken about the events that happened when they were in Hueco Mundo, so she was caught slightly off guard that he had suddenly brought it up so casually.

Clearing his throat Urahara continued, "Well you see Inoue-san, with Kurosaki-san and the Vizored's, they managed to gain control of their hollows and as you know, are able to harness the power for themselves without the hollow taking over and loosing their humanity."

Ichigo had his eyes closed as he listened to information he already knew, Orihime continued to nod along to his words to show she understood. "Before we can have you go through this process, we have to actually wait for the hollow to show itself…"

Ichigo's eyes snapped open at this. Surely this wasn't right? "Wait a second Urahara, that's completely unnecessary. Can't we just have her battle it out with her hollow now? There's no point in waiting around."

Urahara sighed, he knew he'd get this reaction from him. "Unfortunately that's not the case. The hollow has to surface so that Inoue-san can get used to it's reiatsu. If we have her transform straight away and battle it, her body may not be able to handle the strain, in which case the hollow would take over and Inoue-san would be lost to us."

Orihime's stomach knotted at the thought and her hands began to shake. Ichigo looked at her trembling form with concern, this was going to be harder than he had initially thought. His hands clenched his knee's.

"Umm…Kurosaki-san, if you don't mind I would like you to leave the room for a moment while I discuss something with Inoue-san," Ichigo raised an eyebrow questioningly before Orihime spoke up.

"Urahara-san, anything you have to say, you can say in front of Kurosaki-kun, he'll need to know everything if he is going to help me with this," her brows knitted slightly, her hands released her skirt and she balled them into fists on her knees, showing Urahara that Ichigo not being there wasn't an option for her.

Urahara gave a slight uncomfortable laugh, opening his fan again to cover his face. He was going to have to word this right.

"Inoue-san, there are certain triggers that will bring out the hollow. In Kurosaki-sans case, his need to protect others is what brought out his hollow, when he desperately needed more strength. Inoue-san, because of your nature, your triggers will be different." Ichigo and Orihime looked to Urahara curiously.

"You're different to Kurosaki-san in that while his hollow comes out from his need to fight, your hollow I'm 99% sure will come out from any strong negative emotions." Ichigo could understand this. He knew Orihime was a kind and caring person, and whilst she fought when she needed to, her healing nature was more symbolic of her as a person. So it was only natural that a hollow would feed off of any negative emotions.

"Inoue-san, there's a certain...factor in your life…" Urahara's eyes flickered to Ichigo for the briefest of moments, "…that will most likely bring out your hollow if the situation called for it." Orihime burned crimson knowing full well what that factor was, and turned her head away from Ichigo hoping that he wouldn't notice. She looked intently at the plain panel wall as if there was something written there. Urahara laughed nervously at her reaction, Ichigo's eyebrow was raised again confused as if they'd both been speaking a different language. They both seemed to understand something he didn't and neither would look at him.

"I don't understand..." he voiced his confusion to the room that had turned quiet.

Urahara couldn't believe that this boy could be so dense. Everyone else could tell pretty much within a minute of meeting the two that Orihime was irrevocably in love with him. Urahara sighed, thinking to himself _well I suppose it's a good thing that he doesn't understand._

His smile returned to his face, "Oh my Kurosaki-san, that's fine that your little mind can't comprehend something that's staring you right in the face. As long as Inoue-san understands that's all that matters." Ichigo growled back at him, but before he could give any kind of retort Orihime stood up.

She laughed fretfully, wanting to end the current line of conversation. "Thank you Urahara-san, I understand completely." Her expression relaxed becoming cheerless. "Basically…it's a waiting game for now. I just have to continue on as normal until something happens."

Urahara nodded. Silence filled the air once more as Orihime and Ichigo thought of their helplessness. Orihime's thoughts consisted of how long she was going to have to wait, and how bad it was going to be when it eventually happened. Her face was beginning to scrunch up.

She felt a hand on her shoulder again. Looking up her eyes met Ichigo's. He was trying to give her any comfort that he could, anything to make himself feel useful.

The warmth of his hand seemed to spread through Orihime's body, her face relaxing once more. As she smiled at him he squeezed her shoulder gently, before turning to look down to Urahara who was still sat on the floor, feeling slightly uncomfortable and out of place with the scene unfolding in front of him.

"Thanks Urahara-san, I'll take Inoue home now. We'll report back if anything happens." Urahara nodded once more before he got up and lead them both to the shop entrance and saw them off.

Orihime and Ichigo walked in silence for the first few blocks, their pace slow but comfortable.

Ichigo was first to speak, "Inoue, do you mind if I come get you before school tomorrow?"

Orihime's eyes widened with pleasant surprise and a faint blush dusted her cheeks. "Oh no Kurosaki-kun! There's no need," she waved her hands wildly in the air, "I wouldn't want you to go out of your way."

Ichigo turned his head to her, observing her for a moment before turning his head back and closing his eyes.

"It's fine Inoue. It's not that much out of the way. The less time you spend on your own the better."

"R-really it's fine Kurosaki-kun, I can manage…" Ichigo cut her off with one look. His eyes were serious and she saw the familiar flash of amber. Orihime suddenly realised that him asking to walk her to school hadn't really been a question. No matter how much she persisted that he didn't, he would still be waiting at the bottom of her apartment steps the next morning.

His gaze felt intense, and it made her feel more self conscious than she usually did around him. The rose coloured dusting on her cheeks burned deeper as she averted her eyes from his before she spontaneously combusted right there on the spot.

"O-Okay…" Ichigo and Orihime smiled to themselves, both unaware of the others smile.

* * *

Authors note: Please review if you can! I want to know that people are liking the direction I'm going in.

I know this chapter is mainly talk, but I wanted to get the explanation out of the way, and I hope it makes sense. Don't worry next chapter I'm planning on it being lots of Ichigo and Orihime spending time together :) Like I said in the first chapter, I'm planning on this story being at least 6 chapters long.

Oh yeah, and I'm looking for a beta-reader. I don't really know how to find someone specifically for IchiHime from the long list of beta readers so I'm just gonna ask here if anyones interested, please get in touch with me.


	3. This Path Has It's Ups

**First, I want to apologise for how long it's taken me to write this, it took me so much longer than I thought, I'm a video editor and I've had a lot of MEP parts to work on lately. The good news is, that this is quite a lengthy chapter, and it's full of IchiHime FLUFF. Yeah, that's right ;)**

**I have a tumblr account which I'm on most days, I'll leave a link in my profile so you can get in touch if you want to motivate me/send anon hate.  
**

**Not much to say, except I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, even if I did good characters would still die (seriously all the hate Kubo got for killing Byakuya is ridiculous).**

* * *

"Good morning Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime swung around the bottom of the steps she'd just ran down from her apartment. Ichigo was leaning against the wall he had been resting on every morning before school for the last week. He smiled at her as she made her way over to him.

"Morning Inoue," he stifled a yawn that tried to escape his mouth.

Orihime glanced at him feeling guilty. Ichigo noticed her staring at him and nudged her head with his school bag as he slung it over his shoulder. "Inoue I'm not tired because I get up _5 minutes _earlier than usual to come meet you. I'm just not a morning person." He smiled at her reassuringly. She returned the smile feeling relief spread through her. "Besides, other than my dad you're the only person I know who is so enthusiastic in the mornings. I don't know where you get all the energy from."

Orihime laughed at this. It wasn't the first time people had pointed out her constant enthusiasm. She swung her arms behind her back, clasping both her hands onto the handle of her bag.

"Hmmm I can't help it! If I'm happy I can't help but express it." Ichigo allowed himself a small laugh. He'd found her cheerfulness to be incredibly infectious. The first morning he'd walked her to school everyone was stunned at the sudden change. Keigo had been the first to witness it as he'd ran towards Ichigo in the corridor outside their classroom shouting his name, preparing himself to meet Ichigo's arm and be knocked to the ground as usual. Instead Ichigo had simply smiled at him and said "Morning." Keigo had been left stunned in the middle of the corridor until he eventually realised he wasn't dreaming.

They made their way to school, Orihime was talking non-stop about the TV show she'd seen the night before and the strange meal concoction she'd made after she'd finished work. Ichigo listened, responding with "yes's" and "no's", laughing every now and then. He was perfectly content with listening to her talk, he wasn't exactly the chatty type and he always found Orihime's excitable talk interesting. Especially her food choices that seemed to get more eccentric with each meal.

They'd been spending a lot more time together over the last week, visiting each other's homes when neither had work commitments. Their time was filled with either watching TV shows, lounging around reading manga, doing homework or eating meals together. To anybody else this would seem trivial, but Orihime couldn't remember a happier time.

As they arrived at the school gates they were both distracted by a large sign that had been set up in the middle of the school yard. Curious, they both approached it and saw that it was advertising the school festival that was happening that weekend.

"Ah!" Orihime giggled, "I forgot about the festival since third years don't participate."

"Yeah. Good thing as well. I always hated having to do all that work. It was so boring." Ichigo started walking again heading inside for the school shoe lockers. Orihime went along after him following him to his locker, frowning slightly.

"Say, Kurosaki-kun, does that mean you're not going to attend it this year?"

He peeked down at her as he pulled his indoor shoes from his locker. Noticing he'd dulled her mood he felt a little bit guilty, so he averted her eyes. "Well…"

"Kurosaki-kun! You have to go! It's our last year at school, we should take this opportunity to be making lots of memories while we're all still together." He couldn't help but look back at her. Her eyes had quickly become fierce, it's rustic colour baring into his ochre iris's.

It was rare to see her so determined. How could he say no? "Alright, alright Inoue, you've twisted my arm." He flashed her a dazzling smile. "Let's go together."

Orihime blushed brightly. "E-eh…? E-erm…I mean…of course…I'd love to go with you." She twisted a strand of her auburn locks between her fingers nervously.

"Great. Let's ask Keigo and the others when we get upstairs." Orihime stopped twisting her hair.

_Of course he meant together with everyone _Orihime felt herself burn brighter at the embarrassment of her mistake. She quickly went to retrieve her shoes before Ichigo noticed.

* * *

"Arisawa! How are you doing that!" Keigo gripped his head in frustration, watching as a second year student handed Tatsuki her 6th winners prize. She grinned smugly at him, enjoying Orihime applauding in admiration.

It was the day of the school festival, and the gang had all met up to enjoy what would be their last festival together. Keigo, Tatsuki, Chad and Mizuiro had spent the last half an hour testing their skill against each other by throwing small bean bag balls at a wall with different sized holes.

Refusing to give up Keigo shoved some more money into the first year's hands, "I'll beat you this time Arisawa you just watch!"

Orihime glanced over at Ichigo who had chosen not to partake in the competition between their friends. He had his hands in his trouser pockets, and was leaning against a nearby booth, one foot resting on one of the poles. Her heart did a little patter seeing how cool he looked without any effort.

She smiled to herself as she let her eyes wonder. They hadn't yet made it inside of the school, but she'd managed to buy a few things from different booths outside, such as a couple bags of candy floss, a handful of handmade charms she planned to give as gifts, and a bunny rabbit mask which was too cute to not buy amongst other things. Everything she'd bought were placed in plastic bags around her feet.

Luckily the weather was glorious for the first time in ages, so she'd opted to wear a pale pink hooded bunny ear top, teamed with ¾ length navy denim jeans that turned up at the ends and fit her snugly and a pair of simple white sandals.

She hummed to herself quietly as her gaze wondered over to the entrance to the school to look at the numerous colourful boards that had been put up by different classes to advertise different activities that were going on. Maid cafés, game rooms, house of horror, but Orihime found herself eyeing up the rooms that were advertising food, her thoughts conjuring up all the variety of stuff she could mix together and eat.

"Inoue if you're not careful you might actually start drooling," Orihime snapped up straight in surprise spinning herself around. Ichigo was stood beside her, giving her an observatory look. She laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head. "If you're hungry why don't you go get something to eat?"

She waved her hands in front of her, "Oh no it's fine, I'll wait for everyone to finish their game then we can go inside together. Besides! I'm not that hun…" she was interrupted by her own stomach that had decided to rumble loudly right at that moment. She covered her stomach and laughed loudly hoping Ichigo hadn't heard, but he chuckled lightly meaning he had.

"Come on Inoue, I'm bored too. We can just leave them, they're too wrapped up in what they're doing." He inclined his head towards the school entrance and began walking, still watching her to make sure she followed. Blushing lightly she picked up her bags before she fell in step beside him as they entered the busy building, making their way up the first flight of stairs following sign posts for a café.

They could hear the hustle and bustle of fellow students inside the café, Orihime slid open the classroom door smiling away to herself.

A friendly first year student was waiting to the side to show people to the make shift café tables.

"Hi there, thanks for coming to our café, if you follow me I'll show you to your table," she smiled sweetly at them and used her hand to indicate the table at the other side of the room where they were.

As they made their way over, a group of boys fixed their eyes on Orihime who had struck up a conversation with the first year.

"Woah, it's Inoue-sempai." One of them muttered not so discreetly behind his hand. Ichigo glanced at them from the corner of his eye as he passed.

"She's beautiful."

"Lucky us she's sitting near our table."

"Do you think she'd give me her phone number."

Ichigo scowled, he manoeuvred his way past Orihime and the other girl and headed towards the other end of the classroom. The girl looked bewildered and a slight crease appeared between Orihime's eyebrows. They both watched as Ichigo sat down at a table in the corner of the classroom with his back to them. The two girls looked at each other, Orihime shrugging her shoulders to the other not understanding her friends actions.

She left to join Ichigo as the boys sitting at the table scoffed and muttered disappointedly to each other.

Slipping into the seat opposite Ichigo she gave him an enquiring look. He averted his eyes, and leant back in his seat. "You need to be careful Inoue." She continued to look confused so he continued. "A lot of the guys in this school have their eye on you, and most of them only have one thing on their mind." Orihime blushed and looked alarmed.

"I-I don't think that's the case Kurosaki-kun, I mean…why would they…"She got cut off by the stern look that Ichigo was now giving her. Turning a darker shade of red under his gaze she nervously rubbed the back of her head unable to meet his eyes.

"I'm just saying you should be careful." Ichigo turned to look out the window whilst Orihime tried her best to cool herself down.

"Hello!" Another first year student bounded up to their table holding two folded pieces of printed paper. "Here are the menu's, please let me know what you would like." She flashed them her best 'customer service' smile as they took the menu's she was handing out to them.

Orihime looked down at the menu, and immediately realised that everything sounded so delicious. She peeked up at Ichigo from her menu and saw he had already closed his, ready to order. She looked back at her menu, and tried to decide on what sounded more tempting, and calculating in her head how much money she could afford to spend.

"Inoue, come on just pick something."

"Hmmm, but it all sounds so tasty, I don't know what to choose." She had her index finger on her chin as she continued to scan the menu.

"Then get all the ones you want."

Orihime looked at him shocked. "I can't do that," she felt horrified at the thought of Ichigo watching her stuff her face with all the cakes and pies and tarts on the menu, but she wasn't going to tell him that. "That'll cost way too much!" He looked at her as if she'd just said something ridiculous, before his face softened into a heart warming smile.

"Then I'll pay whatever's left over." Orihime felt herself melt inside, he was so nice.

The girl who had been stood beside their table practically swooned, "Oh my god, you guys are such a cute couple!" She clasped her hands and bounced on the spot.

Orihime burned bright scarlet, and even Ichigo's cheeks showed signs of flushing as they both turned to her and simultaneously said, "We're not a couple!"

The girl looked taken aback, but then smirked. _So it's like that huh? _

"Okay okay, sorry! Well tell you what guys, I'll throw in a cake for you two, on me," she winked at them then wrote something down on the pad of paper she was holding, before standing pen poised ready to write down their orders. Ichigo ordered two different things and a drink, then Orihime took up Ichigo's offer whilst restraining herself from ordering everything on the menu, and ordered five items and a drink.

They sat in comfortable silence as they waited for their orders to come. When the girl returned to the table with their stuff on a tray, Orihime couldn't help but "Oooh" and "Ahhh" at the mouth-watering food, all the colourful icing on the cakes, the jam filled tarts, the round pink puffy mochi. She had to force her mouth shut before she drooled onto the table. Ichigo forced himself to prevent a laugh escaping his lips. Her reactions were too adorable. _Adorable? _Did he really just think that?

His thought was interrupted as the girl put down the last item on the table right in the middle of him and Orihime. It was no doubt the extra dish that the girl serving them said that she was going to throw in.

It was a heart shaped cake covered in fresh squirty cream, sliced strawberries with strawberry coulis drawn in little hearts around the plate. The cake looked mouth watering, but embarrassment took precedence in both Orihime and Ichigo.

"Of course this one is to share," the girl placed two silver forks either side of the plate whilst grinning mischievously. "If you don't share it, it isn't free." She watched as Orihime blushed harder, distracting herself by pulling her berry tart towards her and fumbling with placing a napkin on her lap. Ichigo had averted his gaze to look outside the window and had his drink pressed to his lips but it looked suspiciously like he wasn't even drinking it. She loved teasing people, it was so much fun to see their reactions.

Satisfied with her work she left them to it.

As silence fell upon them again, Orihime took a bite of her berry tart, trying to think of a conversation starter. She chewed slowly enjoying the bursts of flavour in her mouth, watching as Ichigo lifted a cake to his mouth and took a bite. She laughed lightly as crumbs fell all over him causing him to scowl in annoyance before wiping them off his t-shirt and lap. Her laugh didn't go amiss as he turned the direction of the scowl to her, but easing it a bit to make it more playful.

"Don't know what you're laughing at Inoue, you're dropping crumbs everywhere too."

She laughed back at him, "Yes but I was smart enough to put my napkin on my lap." She stuck her tongue out at him like a little kid before taking another bite of her tart.

"Tsk, sorry I'm not prissy." He took another large bite of his cake rolling his eyes.

Orihime gasped and frowned at him, "Kurosaki-kun, I am not prissy!" Ichigo looked at her pouting face and just sniggered at her. Knowing that he wasn't going to apologise she flicked a blueberry at him, smiling cheekily at him as it hit the side of his mouth.

His face became blank for a moment before a mischievous grin spread over mouth. "You do _not _want to start a food fight with me Inoue."

She stuck her tongue out at him again, in a _try me _sort of way. He reached out and tore a piece off her mochi before proceeding to throw it at her face.

"Oh ho, you did not just steal my own food to throw at me."

"And what if I did." He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, daring her to make the next move. Accepting the blatant dare he was proposing she leaned over and using two of her fingers she wiped the butter cream icing off what was left of his cake and wiped it onto his nose, then picked up a slice of strawberry from the cake they were supposed to be sharing and placing it on top.

Ichigo's mouth fell open, flabbergasted that she had dared to do what she had just done.

Orihime closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, "Oh my Kurosaki-kun, you look so cute."

Ichigo closed his mouth at this, taking in what she had just said. All of a sudden he seemed to feel hotter, he could feel himself flushing for some reason.

Orihime opened her eyes when she didn't hear any retort and saw that Ichigo had turned a brilliant shade of magenta.

"Eh?"

"Eh?"

"Umm, excuse me guys," the girl who had served them returned to their table and was nervously looking between them. "If possible could you please not make such a mess, after all it will be my class that will have to clean up afterwards."

They both blinked up at her. The scene was quite comical and the girl was having fun watching them until a teacher had walked by and scolded her for the mess.

Orihime sat down in her seat and mumbled an apology which Ichigo echoed. After giving them one last observatory look the girl left them again.

Neither spoke while they finished their food, leaving the shared cake until last.

"What should we do about this?" Orihime spoke up and indicated the cake in the middle of them.

"Let's just split it down the middle." Orihime nodded and watched as he used one of the spoons to split the cake in half the best he could, then pushed one of the halves onto one of her empty plates.

There was jam and cream oozing out from between the layers. She waited for Ichigo to take a bite of his half before eagerly digging in to her own. The flavours combined together in a sweet fusion. The light sponge, the sweet sugary jam and the fresh thick cream tasted heavenly.

Ichigo laughed into the back of his hand. "Inoue, you have some cream on your face." She made a cute face before licking above her lip to try and get rid of it.

He laughed again, "No, it's there," he pointed to above where she'd been licking, she strained her tongue to try and reach it.

"There?" She still hadn't got it. Ichigo smiled at her before leaning over, one arm on the table, the other reaching out towards her. She felt herself freeze up as his hand came closer, before resting on her cheek, one finger gently wiping away the cream. She felt herself melt under his touch.

He wiped the cream onto his napkin and then continued on with eating his half of the cake.

Orihime was still froze in place, her eyes staring adoringly at him. After staring at him for a few moments she continued on with eating.

When they were finished they paid up, Ichigo paying for most of the food at which Orihime thanked him profusely.

She was interrupted by the sing song tune of her phone. She pulled it out of her pocket, humming along to the tune. She flipped her phone open to read the message.

"Ah, it's Urahara-san. He wants me to check in with him sometime today if I can." She looked back at Ichigo, "Sorry Kurosaki-kun, do you mind if I leave early to go and see him."

Ichigo grinned at her. "Why don't we both just go there now. It's not like there's much else to do."

"Mmhmmm, I've bought everything I wanted and I've eaten everything I've wanted to eat," she laughed melodically back at him. "Okay let's go then." Still clasping her phone she raised her arm and pointed in an 'onward' sort of way, struggling to hold all her bags in her other hand.

Ichigo hooked his hand under the bags and took them from her. Orihime looked down from her stance to see what he was doing.

"Kurosaki-kun it's fine I can manage," she tried to grab the bags back but he held them above his head out of reach. She jumped up a few times before giving up and crossing her arms and pouting. Ichigo laughed at her playful expression.

"Come on don't be like that," using his free hand he pinched one of her puffed up cheeks, then turned to start walking. Orihime felt herself blush from his sudden touch, electricity sparking through her. She placed her hand over the place he had touched in a dreamy daze.

"Inoue! What're you doing? Come on let's go!" Ichigo's shout brought her back to reality.

"Coming!" She sang back to him as she ran to where he was.

* * *

When they arrived at Urahara's store, they found him sitting cross legged outside basking in the sun light. As they approached he couldn't help but notice the slightly euphoric state that Orihime was in, and looking at Ichigo he wasn't exactly looking as passive as he usually did. He couldn't help but grimace, this wasn't going very well.

"Hello Urahara-san, Inoue Orihime reporting for duty," she stood in front of him and saluted.

Urahara forced himself to laugh.

"Inoue-san, I take it that there is nothing to report?" Orihime was in her own little world and didn't notice the hint of impatience in his voice.

"Yup, absolutely nothing has happened yet. Which is good right?" She cocked her head to the side, putting a finger to her chin in a thoughtful way.

Urahara sighed, "Well I suppose so. But Inoue-san, eventually the hollow will show up. I hope you understand that. No matter how positive you are at the moment, eventually something will happen that will change that."

"Yes, yes, I know…but for now everything's fine." Her phone began to ring again, as she flipped it open her face brightened even more. "Ah, it's Tatsuki-chan," she pressed the answer button and sung her hello to her, walking off to the side.

Urahara eyed up Ichigo who had been silent since arriving and was still watching Orihime.

"Kurosaki-san, does Inoue-san really understand the seriousness of this situation?" Ichigo slowly shifted his gaze to Urahara.

He surveyed him for a moment before sighing. "Of course she understands. But can you blame her for not wanting to give in to her hollow. If she's happy then we should just let her be. Like you said, sooner or later her hollow will show up, but is it really so bad if it happens later?"

Urahara was about to reply but was interrupted by Orihime's return.

"Sorry about that, Tatsuki-chan said I left a bag at school so she's on her way to my apartment to drop it off. Sorry Urahara-san, I'll come see you again soon." She bowed to him and left with Ichigo before Urahara could say anything more.

Urahara watched as they walked away from his shop, Orihime continuing to beam like the sun while talking to Ichigo.

He let out an exasperated sigh as he pulled his phone from his pocket. He dialled a number before putting it to his ear.

It rang only a couple of times before the receiver picked up.

"Hello Akon-san, I'd like you to connect me to the Thirteenth Division please. I need to speak to Kuchiki Rukia."

_I'm really sorry Inoue-san, this is for your own good._

* * *

Author's note: I'm evil aren't I? Sorry Orihime, I'm gonna have to be cruel to you.

So I don't have much knowledge on how Japanese school festivals go, but ah well, I tried.

I pretty much have most of the chapters planned out, and the food fight wasn't supposed to happen, but I somehow ended up writing it xD I hope you guys liked it because I had fun writing it.

Oh, and I thought I should mention because the thought crossed my mind when I was reading this over, Urahara's not a bad guy xD he doesn't have ulterior motives or anything like that, he's just worried about Orihime.

Please review so I know that you like direction I'm going in!


	4. This Path Has It's Downs

**I didn't think I'd get this chapter done so fast, because it's the only point in the story I hadn't thought out yet. But it was surprisingly easy to write! So here you go :) As always enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Maybe if I marry Kubo he'd let me own half the rights, but alas, a fangirl can only dream.  
**

* * *

Orihime squinted her eyes as she stared at the black and white manga page in front of her, finding it increasingly difficult to follow the fight that had been going on for three chapters now. Giving up she let out a long moan, letting the book fall on top of her face and flinging her arms up above her head to rest on the floor of her apartment.

Ichigo looked up from his own book from where he was lying on her sofa, his eyebrows raised slightly in question at her little outburst.

"What's up Inoue?"

She moaned again before responding, her words muffled because of the book still laying atop her face. Ichigo reached down and lifted it up out of the way. She looked up at him from the floor, her eyes reflected the light that was seeping in from her apartment window. Her hair that was spread out around her on her wooden floor shimmered in the sunlight. Red, bronze, chestnut, he could see a whole range of colours.

His eyes shifted back to her face as she repeated herself. "I'm bored." His eyebrows went a degree higher in surprise.

"You are? I thought you liked reading manga Inoue?" She pouted up at him, tilting her head slightly to look at him better.

"Hmm, I do. But Kurosaki-kun, we've read so much manga the last two weeks it's giving me a head ache!" She pressed the heels of her palms to her forehead in frustration, before swiftly sitting up, arranging her skirt to make sure it still covered her legs. He turned to keep her in eye sight. A smile spread along her face, "Let's do something different Kurosaki-kun, something fun!" She eagerly looked at him, awaiting his agreement.

He chuckled quietly, then feigned a sigh. "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt for us to do something different. I've already read this one a few times anyway." He indicated the book in his hand as he sat himself up. "So, what do you want to do?"

Orihime tapped her chin as she thought, muttering to herself quietly as she thought. Ichigo watched her and saw the moment her mind clicked. She clapped her hands together in front of her, before turning to give him a mischievous look.

Suddenly he felt very nervous.

"Say Ichigo, have you ever baked before?" She smiled knowingly at him.

He grimaced, he was right to feel nervous. "Baking? Well…no…not really…" he hesitated not wanting to be entirely truthful. He scratched his head as he remembered the first time he'd tried to bake. He'd offered to help Yuzu bake some muffins one early morning before she was due to go on a school trip. She'd wanted to take something with her to help her make some friends. Unfortunately Ichigo had used the wrong flour, used salt instead of sugar and then set the oven too high so they over cooked. He felt guilty again as he remembered Yuzu teary eyed and banning him from using the kitchen again.

The emotions playing on Ichigo's face didn't go unnoticed by Orihime. She giggled behind the back of her hand as she got to her feet and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him towards the kitchen. "Don't worry Kurosaki-kun, I'll keep an eye on you and make sure you don't set the place on fire." Ichigo's stomach twisted.

"Don't joke Inoue, I probably _will _set your home on fire." His words only caused her to laugh some more as they entered the kitchen.

She threw him her spare orange frilly apron which he raised his eyebrow at, holding it at arms length. She grinned at him, "Unless you would like to wear this one?" She held up her own pink apron which was decorated with sparkly cartoon cupcakes and strawberries. Ichigo pulled a face and slipped the orange apron on before she could come anywhere near him with it.

Orihime pottered around her cupboards, pulling out ingredients, bowls, scales and various other utensils. When she was done, she pulled her hair up out of the way into a ponytail, as she did Ichigo got a whiff of something sweet.

He inhaled the scent slowly, trying to figure out what it was. He could smell orange and mango.

The enjoyment of this enticing smell was cut short when Orihime spun around, the end of her ponytail flicking up and tickling Ichigo's face causing his nose to twitch.

"There's a recipe I recently learned at the bakery I work at. Lemon shortcake, it's pretty nice and refreshing." She looked up at him through her thick lashes and smiled.

Ichigo nodded his head, rolling up his sleeves.

"Okay let's get started!"

* * *

"Kurosaki-kun! Don't mix it like that!" Orihime nudged him out of the way as she had to stop him from making what felt like his 15th mistake. She'd just caught him "rubbing" together the ingredients by pressing his whole hand on top of it and rubbing it into the bottom of the bowl. He was embarrassed that he kept messing up, and worried that Orihime's last nerve was going to snap. But she smiled at him, placing her delicate fingers into the bowl.

"Here, this is how you do it," she beckoned him over to come back over and watch. He peeked down into the bowl, and watched as she gently rubbed the mixture between the tips of her fingers and thumbs. "You have to rub it together like this otherwise you'll just get one block of mess before we've even added the egg." She gave a light laugh, Ichigo appreciating that she didn't laugh _at _him like anyone else would have done.

Orihime stepped to the side and looked at him. "Want to try again?"

He stepped into the space she'd vacated and placed his hands back in the bowl, picking up some of the mixture between his long fingers and began rubbing. Orihime leaned in to take a peek and make sure he was doing it right. Her sudden closeness startled Ichigo and he nearly knocked the bowl off the counter top, but he quickly moved his body to block it.

She giggled again, "That's great Ichigo, you've got the hang of it now." She patted him on the arm, before turning to get the eggs out of the fridge. Ichigo felt his face heat up slightly from the praise and the contact. He turned his full attention to the bowl in front of him, determined to make it perfect.

Orihime hummed as she picked up the carton of eggs from the bottom shelf of her fridge, then stood back up, straightening her back. She tensed up.

A familiar reiatsu had suddenly appeared somewhere outside below the apartment building. She glanced at Ichigo to see if he'd noticed, but he was too busy, his tongue sticking out in concentration, determined to get it right. His sensing abilities weren't great as it was, so with him concentrating so hard he hadn't noticed.

"Um, Kurosaki-kun." His eyes shifted from the bowl to her, tongue still out. She giggled, "I think someone's here to see you." He looked at her questioningly before there was a knock on the apartment door. Orihime wiped her hands on her apron as she went to welcome their guest. She slid the lock across then pulled the door open. She beamed down at the small dark haired beauty, who returned her smile.

"Kuchiki-san!" There was a clatter in the kitchen as Ichigo knocked the bowl to the side in surprise.

Rukia grinned up at Orihime. "Long time no see Inoue." Before either could exchange any further greetings Ichigo had swung around the kitchen entrance way. He frowned down at the petite girl.

"What are you doing here?" Rukia's expression quickly turned to a glare which she aimed at him.

"Nice to see you too Ichigo. What a nice apron, you should wear it more often, it compliments your hair wonderfully." She smirked at him crossing her arms. Orihime stepped back allowing Rukia to enter her apartment.

Ichigo scowled at her. "Idiot, this is Inoue's." He grunted scratching the top of his head. "Forget that, answer my question, what are you doing here?"

Orihime looked to Rukia, also curious as to what had brought her here. Rukia closed her eyes, exhaling deeply before her expression turned serious.

"Ichigo, it seems that since there hasn't been much for you to, except to get rid of the odd hollow, that you've been getting slack." Ichigo growled readying himself to spit back some sort of retort, but Rukia didn't let him. "It's been decided that to keep up your strength, it's time you started to learn Kido." Ichigo's expression immediately turned to confusion.

"Kido? You guys are only thinking that I could learn to use that now?" Rukia rolled her eyes.

"It's the only chance we've had, so we're going to have to start training straight away to make the most of the time I have free from my duties with the thirteenth division."

Ichigo spluttered, "Wh-what!? You're teaching me?" He pointed his finger rudely at her. "YOU!?"

Rukia sighed pinching the bridge of her nose. "Yes Ichigo, me. So hurry up and get ready so that we can go train." She turned her gaze to Orihime and looked at her sympathetically. "Sorry Inoue, I hate to be doing this."

Orihime felt her stomach knot.

She was upset that Ichigo was having to leave her so suddenly when they were having so much fun, but she knew that this was important for Ichigo. Ichigo's number one priority was to protect those he cared for, and to do that gaining as much power as he could was necessary. But still…she really had been having fun.

Pushing back her selfish thoughts she forced a smile to her face. "Oh don't worry Kuchiki-san," she waved her hands passively in front of her. "This is so much more important." She swung her arms behind her back holding her hands together, gripping them tightly.

Ichigo had gone to pick up his bag and was now taking off the apron. He handed it over to Orihime.

"Sorry to cut this short Inoue." She smiled at him as she took the apron, folding it over her arm. He returned the smile feeling slightly guilty. "Be sure to save some of those biscuits for me." He placed his hand on top of her head as he passed her to leave. The door shut behind the two quietly, their bickering voices muffled as they made their way down to the street below. Orihime placed her hand where Ichigo's had been, feeling the slight trace of reiatsu he'd left behind. As it began to fade away she closed her eyes.

When all traces had disappeared she slowly made her way back to the kitchen. Her eyes scanned the room. It suddenly seemed so much bigger to her. It was silent except for the low hum of the oven as it worked to stay warm. She exhaled slowly before picking up the mixing bowl to finish off the biscuits that she and Ichigo were meant to make together.

* * *

"Looks like you and Inoue were having fun." Rukia grinned up at him as he they leapt from building to building, their black robes fluttering in the wind as they searched for a derelict area to practice in.

Ichigo scowled not making eye contact with the shinigami.

"I saw your Father whilst I was out looking for you. He said that you two have been spending a lot of time together. Anything you want to tell me?" Rukia continued to grin until she saw Ichigo's expression turn into one of unease. She was obviously off the mark with the reason shethought they were spending more time together. She looked at him sternly, worry suddenly invading her mind. "Did something happen Ichigo? Is Inoue alright?"

He gave her a sideways glance, internally debating whether to tell Rukia about Orihime's situation. He shook his head deciding against it. _This isn't something for me to tell people about. We'd already decided that if she wants people to know, she'll tell them herself when she's ready. _He looked back at the dark haired girl. "Everything's fine Rukia, there's nothing to worry about." Ichigo tried his best to give a reassuring smile, hoping that he sounded convincing.

* * *

Author's note: I'm not sure if I made a mistake with Ichigo and his sensing abilities. I remember it being mentioned at some point that he was bad at it, but I can't remember if he's improved or not xD But it's just a little detail so even if I'm wrong, it doesn't matter.

Please review if you can, reviews make me happy :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! So here's another chapter :) Admittedly I'm not 100% happy with it, but I'm not sure if it's just because *spoiler* not much really happens this chapter, but I'll leave it for you to decide.**

**Thank you to everyone who has been reviewing! It makes my day to read them :D and I'm so happy that people are enjoying it! Couple of things:  
**

**Just so you know (because like Renji I am crap with Kido), Hadō is used for direct attacks, and Bakudō is used for binding (or so a website told me!)  
**

**Also I'm off to Portugal next week for my holidays :) so fair warning that the next chapter may take a while to upload. I did chapter plans for the rest of the story, and it looks like it's going to be 13 chapters long! I know I originally said it would be about 6 chapters but I guess I hadn't thought it all out...so sorry if you didn't want to be that committed! All chapters are going to be approx 2500-3500 words as well, because a lot of stuff is gonna go down xD  
**

**Disclaimer: Um yeah, just in case you haven't realised by now, I don't own Bleach!  
**

* * *

"Hmm?" Tatsuki watched as Orihime walked into the school grounds looking morose and missing her companion of the last few weeks. Closing the door of the gymnasium behind her she jumped down the small steps leading onto the school yard before running over, calling out as she went, "Hey! Orihime."

It took a moment for her best friend to come around from the daze she was in, her face immediately lit up as her head snapped around to see Tatsuki, her long auburn hair flowing around her shoulders with her movement.

Stopping in her place she returned the greeting. "Morning Tatsuki-chan," her voice sung out as she waved over enthusiastically at her. Tatsuki slowed as she got closer and they both turned to walk towards the school entrance.

"Hey, Orihime…where's Ichigo?" Tatsuki was curious about his sudden absence. She watched as Orihime's expression slipped for a moment before putting a smile back on her face to answer.

"Kurosaki-kun slept in this morning. He had to work late last night and he had homework to do when he got in, so he didn't get to sleep until late." Of course he also had training before all that with Rukia as well, but she didn't want to bring that up with Tatsuki, not wanting to answer the tumult of questions she was sure to ask.

Orihime breathed out a small nervous laugh, but Tatsuki could tell that she was putting on a front.

Giving her an encouraging pat on the back she smiled at her, "Well I'm sure it's just a one off. At least that idiot had enough sense to tell you so that you weren't stuck waiting for him this morning. God knows how long you would have been stood there worrying about him. Actually scratch that, you probably would've ran to his house after five minutes if he wasn't there." Tatsuki smirked at Orihime who had turned a violent shade of red.

Orihime made a cute pouting face, "T-Tatsuki-chan! That's not true." Her words were met with a skeptical look which caused her to become slightly flustered. "Tatsuki-channnn! Stop making fun of me." She playfully punched her friend in the arm as they reached their lockers.

Orihime fiddled with the catch on her locker until she heard it click. As it swung open she squeaked in surprise as envelopes fell out, and cascaded onto the floor. She stared at them for a moment caught unaware.

"Oh wow have you seen that? Must be nice." A girl whispered to her friend not far from beside Orihime.

"As expected of Inoue-Senpai." This time a group of boys who had been walking past and witnessed the scene unfold. Giggling ensued as well as more hushed whispering, which caused Orihime to burn with embarrassment.

She quickly crouched down and scooped up the handwritten love letters and shoved them in her bag before anyone else could see.

"Heh. How many this time." Orihime groaned as she slowly got back up to her feet, turning to see Tatsuki grinning at her.

She averted her eyes and took her shoes out of her locker to change them.

"Four." She mumbled the word hoping that no one else was listening in.

Tatsuki laughed again. "It seems no one can resist our big breasted beauty."

Orihime made a disproving noise as she placed her pumps in the locker, closing the door and pushing it hard to secure it as much as possible.

They both made their way up the stairs to the second floor where they usually spent their time together in the mornings before going off to their separate classes. They stood by their usual window that looked out onto the back of the school. The beginning's of autumn were starting to show on the trees below; their leaves were yellowing and had started to fall, scattering around the grass below.

Tatsuki rested her elbows on the window ledge, her head in her hands as she gazed outside. Orihime stood beside her, leant against the small gap of wall between the windows.

They chattered idly for a few minutes, catching up on what they had been up to over the weekend.

An idea suddenly springing to her mind, Orihime clapped her hands together as she moved away from the wall, smiling gleefully at her friend. "Oh, Tatsuki-chan. I was wondering if you were free to do something tonight? My boss gave me the night off and it's been a while since we've properly hung out." Orihime's eyes glimmered with hope as she stared at Tatsuki.

Tatsuki grimaced. "Sorry Orihime. The national tournament's coming up in a few weeks so I'm trying to do as much training as I can at the dojo." Orihime's face fell. Tatsuki feeling guilty made to apologise again.

"It's fine Tatsuki-chan! I completely understand." She smiled reassuringly at her friend. "Besides I have a TV show I've been meaning to catch up on, and a new recipe I've been meaning to try out." Tatsuki surveyed Orihime's smiling expression, checking that she wasn't putting on a front again. Satisfied that Orihime was being truthful she glanced at her watch on her wrist.

"Ah, I'm gonna head off now Orihime. I need to go and tell my homeroom teacher about my upcoming absence for the tournament." Nodding her head Orihime waved her off. Once Tatsuki had rounded the corner to the staircase, her body slumped back against the wall as she let out a sigh.

_If I don't do something soon, I'm going to go insane from staring at the same four walls of my apartment. _She stretched her arms above her head as a voice came into earshot.

"It was great Chad, you should have seen it." Orihime perked up as she recognised the voice that was coming up the stairwell. Brightening up she began to make her way over to the stairs, a slight bounce in her step, mouth opening readying to speak. "I hate to admit it, but Rukia really is amazing."

Orihime automatically froze in place. _Ah._ She hesitated, unsure of whether she still wanted to go over.

She heard their footsteps getting closer nearing the landing of the 2nd floor. Her feet instinctively turned and she dashed backwards, pressing her back against the corridor wall out of sight.

"I know I give her a lot of stick, but she's been really good at teaching me Kido. She makes it surprisingly easy, and I'm feeling so much stronger." Orihime dared herself to peek around the corner, a motion she immediately regretted when she saw the look of utter delight spread over Ichigo's face as he looked at his extended arm, balling up his fist. She quickly ducked her head back, waiting until their voices had disappeared as they headed further upstairs.

Feeling her hands tremble against the wall behind her, she clenched them together tightly, trying to calm herself. Ichigo's voice resounded in her head. _Rukia really is amazing._

She had no doubt in her mind that Ichigo had always thought this anyway, but hearing him say it out loud…it became solid reality. Her stomach had dropped from hearing him say it.

* * *

At the end of the day Orihime found herself sat on the steps at the school entrance, watching as the last of the students emptied out through the gates. After pondering over the mornings events for the whole day, she had decided to try and ask Ichigo to do something together, since they hadn't spent much time together latelyother than the time they spent together with their friends during lunch break.

If he wasn't working, she was working. If she wasn't working he had training to do with Rukia. If he wasn't training he had family commitments.

She ignored the knot of guilt that had formed in her stomach from the feeling that she felt like she was now having to ambush him after school to get him to spend some time with her. She rubbed her stomach to try and ease what was now becoming an ache.

"Inoue?" Orihime whipped around as she heard Ichigo's voice come from behind her. Smiling happily she got to her feet.

"Hi Kurosaki-kun!" He nodded his head in response to her greeting, looking at her curiously. She swung her bag behind her back holding onto the handle with both hands, bouncing between her heels and the balls of her feet. "The new Jump magazine is out, I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to buy it? Then maybe read it back at my place. I have some doughnuts from the bakery that need eating." Hope swelled up inside of her as she tightened her grip on her bag.

Ichigo's face scrunched up slightly. "Sorry Inoue, I'm dropping my stuff off at home then heading straight out to train more with Rukia." The little bubble of hope burst within Orihime, leaving nothing but the hollow feeling of loneliness once more that was beginning to become entangled with jealousy.

She fought not to let the disappointment show on her face, forcing to keep the smile in place.

"Oh..okay…well maybe next time then!" She mustered all her will power to force out a tiny laugh.

The side of Ichigo's mouth turned up in silent agreement. He walked past her, raising his hand to say bye. Orihime stood motionless, staring at her lone shadow cast across the cold concrete ground in front of her, her head hung low. _At this rate there never will be a next time. _She remembered the look on Ichigo's face from that morning.

A breeze brushed by her, blowing through her long hair as she lifted her arm to grip the other tightly whilst she bit back tears. _I really am no good._

A laugh echoed around her. Surprised she whipped around, only to find that she was still on her own. Her eyes scanned the area looking for the source of laughter, narrowing slowly as she searched.

Unable to see anyone, she sighed deeply shrugging it off as her mishearing things. She dabbed her eyes quickly before leaving to head back home.

* * *

"Ichigo! Concentrate!" Rukia scorned Ichigo as he once again failed to detect her coming up from behind him. "Hado number 31, Shakkaho."

Ichigo dodged as Rukia sent another ball of fiery light towards him. As it made contact with the ground, it expanded creating a crater like shape, pieces of disintegrated pavement and dust flying every where. He took his chance to take cover of the dust filled air and willed his sore legs to run behind the small janitors building that was in the grounds of the unused factory where they had been training. He collapsed against the cold stone wall, trying to catch his breath. He wiped the blood that was seeping into his mouth from a shallow gash on his cheek.

_Too weak. I'm too weak. _He tried to steady his breaths, his body was aching from the vigorous training Rukia had been putting him through for the last nine days. He wasn't allowing his body time to recover and adapt to his sudden return to strenuous activity. He heard the steady rattle of metal on ground as his sword shook in his hand from the pain that he was in. Ichigo looked down at his hand that was clasped on the handle of his sword, his usual scowl deepening. _I need to get stronger. Like this, I'm too weak. If I don't get stronger then I can't protect her. I can't keep her safe. _He tightened his grip to stop the shaking.

"Ichigo! Stop hiding you coward, come out and fight me." Rukia bellowed into empty space, giving him a chance to come out before coming to give him a swift kick to get his act together.

He didn't need telling twice. Closing his eyes he took a deep calming breath, before getting back to his feet.

"Ichigo, if you don't come out now I'll tell everyone that you have perverse dreams about a certain auburn haired beauty!" The short girl shouted her threat, unimpressed that he was behaving so cowardly.

Just as she was about to go find him, out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of yellow. Just as she tried to avoid it, a yellow rope had surrounded her, ensnaring and trapping her, her former movement causing her to trip and fall flat on the ground.

Ichigo stepped into view, a vein throbbing clearly on his forehead, his teeth gritted together. "Oh you would like that wouldn't you? How about the next time you injure me as bad as this," he pointed to the gash on his face, "I tell everyone that you and Renji practice Bakudo on each other, but not in the training ground where everyone else does it." Rukia turned beet red at the implication.

"I-idiot! Like we would do such a thing!" She squirmed on the ground trying to break loose from her bindings.

Ichigo sneered down at her. "Then it looks like we have an agreement then." Rukia glared back at him before reluctantly agreeing.

"Tch. Fine. Now will you release me!" He complied and the glowing yellow rope loosened before disappearing into thin air.

Rukia got back to her feet, wiping down her robes to get rid of the dust.

"Let's leave it here for today…" Ichigo opened his mouth to protest, "…you're not concentrating. Your mind's obviously on something else." She peeked up at him with her violet eyes, surveying him as he closed his mouth, looking away but not denying the accusation. "Want to talk about it?"

Ichigo scratched the back of his head uncomfortably. He wasn't so good with talking, especially when Rukia was his conversation partner. "It's just…I feel bad…" Rukia nodded her head, waiting for him to continue. "Well, Inoue asked me to spend time with her again today, but I had to say no again so that I could come here and train."

Rukia looked at him curiously, his hand still at the back of his head. "And why do you feel bad?"

His eyes seemed to move to look as far away from her as possible. "Well, it's just I said I would spend more time with her…"

Not satisfied with his answer she needled a little more. She put on a passive tone, "Tch. Inoue's old enough to not throw a tantrum if you want to spend your time doing stuff you want to do." Ichigo's face visibly twitched as he turned to frown at her.

"That's not it! I _want _to spend time with her. Do you really think I'd rather be spending my time with you training when I could be spending it with her." Rukia smirked, finally satisfied with his answer.

"Look's like spring's came early. Actually in your case…very late," Ichigo's expression turned into confusion. Feeling pleased with herself, Rukia turned on the spot, jumping up onto the nearest building before turning again.

"Ichigo, I'm going back to Soul Society to check up on my squad for the night, I'll be back tomorrow so make sure you rest yourself." She turned once more and hopped off into the distance.

Ichigo grimaced at the thought of only having one night to recover as much as he could before getting straight back into training. He checked to make sure Rukia had disappeared from his eye sight before allowing himself to collapse onto the ground in exhaustion.

* * *

Author's note: So what did you think? Please review if you can :)


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm sorry guys, I guess I lied yesterday when I uploaded chapter 5 and said I didn't know how long the next chapter would be because of the aforementioned reasons...but here's another chapter a day later xD **

**I woke up to some lovely reviews this morning, and it motivated me to get this done today :D Thank you so much for reviewing.  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.  
**

* * *

Orihime sighed as she closed her apartment door behind her, sliding the lock across before slipping off her shoes and dumping her bag in the hall. Using the last of her energy she stumbled over to her couch and collapsed.

It had been extremely busy at work that evening because they were having a discount day, and she'd been asked to work later than usual to make sure everything ran smoothly.

She rolled onto her back and stretched her arms and legs up in the air above her.

She could smell the aroma of freshly baked bread and apple pie soaked into her clothes and skin. But she was too tired to move and change out of her work uniform. She groaned as she remembered she still had an essay to do for her Biology class the next day.

Deciding that she'd rather get her homework out of the way so that she could collapse straight into bed after her shower, she slowly got to her feet and walked to her bedroom to get the work out of her school bag on her desk.

As she roamed through her bag however, she found she was unable to find her Biology text book.

"Where are you?" She murmured to herself. She checked the floor around her desk before putting her palm to her forehead, suddenly remembering that she had leant it to Tatsuki earlier on that day and she had forgotten to ask her best friend for it back. Happy to have a reason to talk to her, she snatched up her phone from the pocket of her waistcoat and dialled her number, bouncing up and down with her spirits lifted.

She heard a small click as the call connected.

"Hey Orihime, what's up?"

Orihime beamed to herself. "Hello Tatsuki-chan! Sorry to disturb you. I was just wondering do you have my Biology text book with you?" She heard Tatsuki groan at the other end of the line.

"Sorry Orihime, I completely forgot to give it back to you. Do you need it tonight?"

Orihime giggled, "Don't worry about it Tatsuki-chan! And yeah, I need it to do some work."

"Okay I'll come over with it straight away, I'll be ten minutes."

"Oh! Tatsuki-chan, I'll meet you half way at the convenience store, I need to buy myself a few things." Orihime heard her friend groan again. Knowing that she was about to say something overly protective she spoke up. "I'll be fine Tatsuki-chan, it's just along the road and the street is brightly lit."

Tatsuki exhaled knowing no matter how much she protested, Orihime was going to meet her there anyway. "Okay…but wear that big puffy winter coat of yours so any guys passing by don't try and grab you." Orihime laughed nervously and agreed. Both bid farewell to each other before hanging up.

Orihime immediately shoved on the aforementioned coat that came down to her knee's and made her look like a puffy pink marshmallow, and grabbed her bag and keys and headed straight out the door.

The cold night air hit her face as she ran down the steps of her apartment complex, before slowing to a fast walk when she reached the street. She hummed to herself as she made her way along the street that lead to the main road where the convenience store was, deciding to bribe Tatsuki into coming back to hers by buying her, her favourite mint chocolate chip ice cream. She giggled to herself as she created her plan, her breath visible as it hung like fog in the chilly air before dissipating.

She rounded the corner at the end of the road and saw the convenience store lights shining not much further away. As she got closer she noticed her friends dark unruly hair from where she stood next to the entrance of the store. Excitement taking over she broke into a steady run, continuing along the sidewalk before crossing the street.

"Tatsuki-chan!" She shouted out to her friend as she waved. Tatsuki's head shifted up at her voice, a smile breaking out before her eyes caught sight of the headlights that were drawing closer to Orihime. A chill went down her spine as she pushed herself away from the wall.

"Orihime! Watch out!" She sped across the road, Orihime slowing to a stop as her head turned, eyes widening and reflecting the bright beams that were now barely ten meters from her. The loud sound of a horn penetrated through her body as her mouth opened to gasp.

Something heavy collided with her, pushing her backwards. She fell to the side of the road, scraping her cheek as it grazed the curb.

Wheels screeched as the car braked, skidding to the side. A dull thud caused Orihime to lift her head as she tried to open her eyes that had shut from the pain of falling.

Her eyes caught sight of best friend lying motionless on the ground. She felt her body freeze up as what she saw slowly sunk in. Blood covered her friends arm that was stuck out at an odd angle. She felt the bile in her stomach churn, ready to force itself up. A shaky hand covered her mouth as she swallowed hard.

"Oh my god! What were you doing?! You just ran out in front of me!" Orihime's eyes flickered over to the car, it's driver who was equally as shaken was clambering out of his car, pulling his phone out of his pocket as he looked over at Orihime.

"Argh." Orihime's eyes snapped back over to her friend, who had regained consciousness. Panic setting in Orihime scrambled over to Tatsuki's side, making sure that Tatsuki could see her.

"T-Tatsuki-chan…w-wh…." Orihime struggled to find words as she stared at her friends bloodied arm, her face also had a gash on the right side just above her eyebrow, the blood trickling down and disappearing into her hairline.

_I have to do something._

Her eyes glanced up at the driver who had now turned away to call for an ambulance. She lifted her hand to touch her hair pins but was stopped by a shaking bloody hand. Jumping slightly in surprise she looked down at Tatsuki who was staring at her through eyes that were scrunched up with pain.

Through shallow breaths she managed to breathe out, "Don't."

Orihime's eyes widened. "But…"

Groaning with pain Tatsuki tightened her grip on her. "No Orihime, there's no way you'd be able to explain it."

"I-I don't care I need to help you!" Her voice shook as tears began to spill from her eyes.

Tatsuki strained a smile, relaxing her grip. "I'm fine Orihime, this is nothing." Orihime watched in horror as tears began to fall from her eyes, something she had only bore witness to once before. Orihime squeezed her eyes shut as she enclosed her hands around Tatsuki's holding it tightly, lowering her head to their hands in silent prayer. _Please...please let her be alright. _

* * *

"Okay, what do we have here?"

"We have a female, 17 years old, who was knocked down by a car." Orihime ran to keep up, her eyes locked on Tatsuki who was now being rushed into the emergency room on a gurney. "The car braked and turned at the last moment but she still got hit. She has a broken arm, suspected bruising to her rib cage and a cut on her forehead, all oh which are on her right side. There is also minor bruising and grazing." The paramedic finished his evaluation as they wheeled her into a separate room, the doctor leaning over Tatsuki using her stethoscope to check her breathing and heart rate.

Orihime made to follow them into the room but a young male nurse in maroon scrubs stopped her.

"Sorry but you can't go in there until they've gotten her into a more stable condition." Orihime looked at him helplessly, ready to protest. He smiled kindly at her. "Don't worry she's not in any danger. Now how about we go over there to sort that out." He indicated to a free cubicle and then towards the cut on her cheek which had completely evaded her mind until now. She glanced into the room and saw another nurse injecting Tatsuki with a clear fluid whilst the doctor asked her questions whilst simultaneously pressing her fingers to her rib cage checking for broken bones. Reluctantly Orihime allowed herself to be steered by the nurse over to the free cubicle.

"What's your name?" The nurse asked her as they walked.

"Inoue. Inoue Orihime." She answered him in a daze.

Reaching the cubicle she removed her thick coat that was uncomfortable to sit in and lay it down before sitting down on the bench revealing her work uniform that she was still wearing. Her cerise waistcoat hugged her curves snugly over the long sleeved plain white shirt that was tucked into her form hugging black skirt. The nurse appreciated the aesthetics he was being treated to, a grin spreading over his face as he watched her. Orihime peeked at him patiently, waiting for him to finish entering and shut the curtain behind him.

Regaining his composure, he slid the navy curtain across before stepping over to her. He slipped on a pair latex gloves from a box on the bench beside them, before opening drawers and pulling out steriliser, gauze and bandages.

He pulled out a cotton swab to dab at the blood. Smiling gently at her, he said "Sorry this may hurt a bit." He dabbed at the blood, but Orihime who was by now used to injuries like this, didn't draw back.

Once finished he discarded the swab before getting a new one and soaked it in steriliser. "Well that may not have hurt but I'm sure this will." As the steriliser made contact Orihime flinched at the stinging pain.

He finished sorting out her wound, speaking again as he finished securing the bandage to her cheek over the gauze. "There you go. Luckily it wasn't too bad. I'll go check on your friends condition for you then you'll have to fill out some paperwork with your details"

Orihime nodded, finding it hard to talk at that moment.

He pulled the curtain across as he left, to ensure her privacy was kept. Now alone with her thoughts, she sat and folded her hands over each other repeatedly.

_It's all my fault. If I hadn't ran across that road without looking. If I hadn't insisted that she gave me the book back tonight. _Tears began to drip down onto her hands that were now shaking in her lap. _If I hadn't been so selfish, just because I was feeling a bit lonely…_

A chilling laugh echoed around her. Her head whipped up looking around the small space she was in. But she was alone. That sound felt familiar to her, although she couldn't put her finger on when or where she had heard it before. Just as she was about to shake it off, she heard it again, this time it sounded much closer, like it was coming from right next to her. Still unable to see anything, her hand immediately reached to her head to check for any hidden bumps or cuts that had gone unnoticed.

"_Heh heh heh. You're not imagining things princess." _A spine tingling voice penetrated through her, causing her to freeze up, eyes wide with horror as realisation quickly hit her. _"Heh, looks like you've realised it princess. Yes, it's me. You're hollow." _Orihime felt the bile in her stomach swirl once more at the sound of her voice, the vibrations of each spoken syllable reverberating within her. _"By the way, congratulations on almost getting your friend killed, I didn't like her much any way."_ Orihime's hand fell to her side in shock. _"What I did like however…was seeing all that blood. What a tantalising sight."_

_No…no…_Orihime thought back to it, which only caused it to laugh more.

"_Heh…if you were stronger, strong like I am…then she wouldn't have been hurt. It's just a shame you're so weak."_

Orihime's hands went upwards and gripped her head. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly trying to block out the voice.

_Sh-shut up! I-I'm not weak._ She mentally forced the hollow to subside, it's echoing laugh fading.

"Are you okay Inoue-san." Orihime looked up to see that the nurse had returned with a clipboard, his face showing concern. He strode over to her, dropping the clipboard onto the bench and grasping the sides of her head. He stared into her eyes, checking the size of her pupils. "Does your head hurt?"

Panicking she leant away from his hands, averting her eyes worried that he would be able to see the hollow just by looking at her. "No, I'm fine thank you." She leant over and picked up the abandoned clipboard, slipping the pen from the plastic hold and began to fill in her details.

The nurse surveyed her, unsure if she was lying or not. He exhaled slowly. "Okay, well I checked on your friend. She's been seen to and is all patched up now. She's alright." Orihime's eyes lifted from the sheet where she had been writing her personal details.

"She is!?"

He gave her a smile, "Yes. She has a broken arm and there's the cut on her forehead, but other than that it's just minor cuts and bruises."

Orihime breathed out a massive sigh of relief, fresh tears pouring from her eyes.

The curtain of the cubicle ripped open. Both occupants whipped around to see a tall orange haired boy standing out of breath, his eyes searching the room frantically before landing on Orihime, eyes widening at her bandaged cheek and teary eyes.

Orihime could see his substitute shinigmai badge half hanging out of his pocket. Her eyes lowered knowing he had just come straight from training with Rukia.

"Inoue, are you ok? How's Tatsuki?"

The nurse glanced at Orihime. "Inoue-san is this a friend of yours?" Ichigo scowled at him.

"Of course I am! Why else would I be here?"

"Sir, could you please keep your voice down. This is a hospital, please respect the patients." The nurse scorned him as he left the cubicle with the bag of discarded bandages from earlier. Ichigo about to retort, caught sight of the bloodied bandages in the bag and his mouth closed firmly, his eyes resting back on Orihime.

"Inoue?" His voice was gentle now as he took a step towards her, his arm dropping letting the curtain fall back into place.

Putting a smile on her face, she lifted her head to answer him. "Sorry Kurosaki-kun. I'm fine thank you. Tatsuki-chan is fine now as well. But she does have a broken arm and some cuts and bruises." Ichigo inhaled sharply through his teeth imagining the painful wounds. Her face fell once more unable to keep up her cheery façade. Instead she wondered out loud, "Kurosaki-kun how did you know we were here?"

He blinked down at her, his hand going to the back of his head. "I was training with Rukia when we both felt the fluctuations in yours and Tatsuki's reiatsu, luckily I've managed to improve on that somewhat the last few weeks." He smiled sheepishly, pleased that he was improving. The smile faded as he caught sight of Orihime's expression. She was looking glum and lost in thought.

_No wonder she's upset after what she's just been through. _"Inoue…are you really alright?"

Orihime's eyes slowly looked up to his, her brown orbs shining from the tears that had fell.

Her mouth trembled slightly as she hesitantly opened it. "Ac-actually Kurosaki-kun…there's something I have to tell you…" before she could finish a shout interrupted her.

"Ichigo!" Orihime and Ichigo both jumped in surprise as Rukia's head suddenly appeared through the wall. "You could have at least waited for me. I told you they weren't in any immediate danger." As her whole body appeared revealing her small black robed body, she jumped across the room to swat him across the head.

"Ow. Jeez Rukia. Sorry!" Rukia placed her hands on her hips and blew out a breath.

"You were just about to get the hang of that kido spell as well. Hurry up and do what you need to do so we can go back and get it finished."

Rubbing his head where he'd been hit he looked back at Orihime with one eye open. "Sorry Inoue, I need to go check on Tatsuki. I'll talk to you tomorrow at school. Okay?" He bid farewell waving as he left, Rukia inclined her head towards Orihime, telling her she was glad she was alright before following after him.

Orihime was left on her own once again. She rubbed the back of her neck feeling uncomfortable.

_It's fine…I'll just tell him tomorrow at school. He has other stuff to think about. _

She turned her attention back to the clipboard in front of her, pen poised to continue writing.

Just as she had finished and had picked up her coat, the nurse came back in.

"Oh, are you all done Inoue-san?" Folding her coat over her arm she handed the clipboard over to him.

"Yes. Thank you very much for helping me." She bowed her head to him in thanks. He grinned to himself as she straightened up again. She gave a small smile. "Well I'll be off now."

"Inoue-san, how are you getting home?" He frowned slightly down at her and she raised one of her eyebrows.

"Hmmm…well I was just going to walk." She responded as though that was the obvious answer.

He looked shocked, "Inoue-san it's very late now, a young girl such as you shouldn't be walking around on her own. What about your friend, can't he see you home safely?" He watched as the girl's expression visibly saddened.

She mumbled a reply. "He's busy."

Understanding the situation, the nurse felt sympathy for the girl. "Inoue-san, please get a taxi straight back home, you should be careful."

Orihime no longer had the motivation to even speak now, so she nodded her head as she walked past him. Her eyes were downcast and staring at the ground as she left the hospital to go home.

* * *

Author's Notes: Just to clarify, Orihime's (and others) thoughts are _written in italics_, whereas Orihime's hollow's voice will be shown in _"italics and within speech marks". _Hopefully that's not too confusing!


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys!**

**Sorry that it's been nearly two months since the last update, things have just been really hectic with me moving back to University, and I've had a lot of assignments to start, but hopefully now that I've gotten back into the swing of things updates will become regular again :)  
**

**So I've had to split this chapter into two, because it was going to be far too long! I've almost finished the second part, so expect chapter 8 soon (that's as long as nothing comes up to distract me!).  
**

**Enjoy!  
**

**P.s. thank you to those who said to enjoy Portugal :) I loved it!  
**

* * *

Her arm extended, her fingers reaching routinely to the side of her bed, pressing down on the button of her alarm just as the second beep was about to sound.

Sleep had evaded her the whole night.

Each time her eyes had fallen shut, instead of the usual darkness she would see, she saw the bright headlights of the oncoming car, the screech of it's braking wheels resounding through her before hearing the dull thud as her friends body hit the solid ground.

Her tired eyes had already adjusted to the sunlight that had slowly seeped in through the gaps in her curtains, and after a night of staring at her ceiling, she had now memorised each small crack and brush stroke in the paintwork.

Closing her eyes she exhaled slowly, before she turned and shifted her tired and heavy body into a sitting position, her feet dangling over the edge of the bed before touching the carpet, her toes sinking in to the thick material before wriggling to adjust to the feeling.

She shifted her weight, getting to her feet. Rubbing the back of her aching neck she tried to stretch herself whilst slowly shuffling to her bathroom.

A shower was normally enough to wake her and get her spirits up on the occasional nights that she hadn't managed to sleep, however on this morning taking a shower just felt horribly routine to her. The water seemed to pound down at her, the hot water not enough to warm her body no matter how much she turned up the temperature. The usual song words that couldn't help but escape her mouth were no where to be found.

After forcing herself to muster enough energy to wash her hair and her body, she stepped out the shower and wrapped herself up in her towel, feeling - if possible - even worse than before.

She dragged herself into her kitchen, her feet barely noticing the icy feeling of her floorboards beneath her feet.

Opening up a cupboard, her finger traced across the boxes of cereal absentmindedly. She knew she should probably eat something, it would probably make her feel somewhat better. But she didn't feel hungry at all, and she wasn't in the mindset to eat.

She gave up and traipsed back to her room. She stood for a moment in the doorway as her eyes caught sight of her uniform that was hanging up from the top of her wardrobe. She eyed the dull grey material that seemed to blend in with the rest of her dim room.

Ignoring her uniform she opened up her wardrobe, and pulled out an ankle length deep purple skirt and a form fitting pale pink knitted jumper.

_School is the last thing I need right now. I can't deal with everyone's questions. _She slipped her arms into the sleeves of her jumper and pulled it over her head, making sure to lift her long hair out of it._ I guess I could take a day off…my attendance has been pretty much perfect this year, so if I take one day off it shouldn't matter. _

After pulling on the rest of her outfit, she strode through to her sitting room and grabbed her purse and the closest bag to her. She slipped on a pair of plimsolls then left her apartment locking the door behind her.

There was only one person she wanted to see right now.

* * *

"Thank you very much." Orihime stepped lightly off the steps of the bus, pausing as she looked up at the huge white building in front of her. She heard the bus pull away behind her, it's vacant spot quickly becoming occupied with people being dropped off and picked up.

She felt nervous being there, but she wanted to see Tatsuki so badly. She wanted to make sure she was really okay. That the nurse hadn't lied to her and she was really lying dead on a cold metal slab in the morgue. The tight feeling in her stomach that was making her feel sick wouldn't go away until she saw Tatsuki's warm face full of life.

Gripping the strap of her bag she stepped forward, closing the distance between herself and the hospitals doors. The doors slid open automatically, and Orihime's feet carried her to the reception desk.

After spending the night under observation, Tatsuki would have been moved to a different room for her recovery. The attendant at reception confirmed this and kindly indicated Orihime to the elevators down the hall and told her where to find Tatsuki's room.

When Orihime stepped out of the elevator she followed the signs to Tatsuki's room. Seeing it up ahead she paused for a moment to regain her usual composure.

If Tatsuki could see how she was really feeling, then it would just cause her to worry. _The only person Tatsuki should be thinking about now is herself, she doesn't need to worry about me. _Checking her reflection in the glass window of a door, she patted her hair down taking a deep breath. She beamed to herself and adjusted it to make it look natural. Once she was satisfied she strode over to Tatsuki's room, her hand was on the handle when she became aware of the heated discussion that was going on inside.

"What do you mean I can't compete?!" Orihime felt herself freeze at the sound of her friends raised voice.

She heard someone in the room sigh with exasperation. A male voice replied to her, "I'm sorry Arisawa-san, but your injuries are too severe for you to so much as walk up a flight of stairs on your own, let alone fight in a martial arts competition."

Orihime's hand quickly moved to her mouth to stop the gasp that was about to escape. _Oh no. I completely forgot. Tatsuki-chans competition was coming up. _Her other hand covered her stomach as she felt it begin to churn again. In the back of her mind she was thankful that she had decided against breakfast this morning. She moved her head so that she could peek into the room through the small window in the door.

Tatsuki was sat up in her bed, her face bandaged and a cast on her arm that was in a sling. Her mother was stood to the side, her palm was on her forehead as she listened pityingly so her daughters futile pleas. A middle aged male doctor in a white lab coat stood at the foot of her head, clipboard in hand.

"Don't be ridiculous! Of course I can compete! You have no idea how strong and capable I am." Tatsuki's voice was growling now. She was adamant that she was going to fight in the competition that she had been training so hard for, for the last year.

"_Heh, she's only a pitiful human. Doesn't she realise her limitations?" _Orihime's breath caught in her throat as the eerie voice made it's appearance again. "_Humans are such weak creatures, and she is no different."_

Orihime held her breath as if it were enough to stop the hollow from speaking. _You don't know what you're talking about, Tatsuki is not weak. She's one of the strongest people I know, and that's including all the shinigami and arrancar I have came across._

"_You say she's strong, but just look how easy it was to break her arm. Imagine how easy it would be for me to break her other arm." _She heard the hollow laugh sinisterly and it sent shivers up her spine.

The doctor rubbed his temples beginning to get frustrated. "Arisawa-san, you can't take your injuries lightly. If you don't give them time to heal then it will just cause complications. I understand your frustration but you must _not _compete." He looked at her sternly, trying to express how serious he was, to make her understand. She only scowled back at him, her mind rapidly trying to find a solution to the problem.

"_Hey princess, why don't you just put her out of her misery and kill her. You'd be saving me a job." _Orihime felt her palms begin to sweat. Her eyes came to focus on her reflection and she felt terror rip through her as she noticed the black that was slowly creeping over the clear white of her sclera. Her hand that had been covering her mouth snapped up to her eye. She squeezed both her eyes shut as she tried to push the hollow back once more. _I would never do that!_

The hollow laughed mercilessly again. "_Princess, you're going to slip up sooner or later, and until you do…I'll be right here waiting…" _Her taunting words faded slowly within Orihime, but they kept replaying in her mind.

Too much perspiration caused Orihime's hand to slip on the door handle. It turned down with her hand before it flicked back up into place after her hand slid off it with a loud noise.

Three heads whipped up to look at her through the tiny window. The doctors expression remained unchanged at her unfamiliar face, whereas she could see Tatsuki's mother let out a sigh of relief, and Orihime saw what colour was remaining in Tatsuki's face drain, her mouth hung open in surprise.

Tatsuki's head hung low as she stared down at her hands feeling guilty, wondering how much of the conversation Orihime had heard, but judging from the horrified expression on her face, she had heard enough.

Tatsuki's mother quickly crossed the room towards the door, the doctor followed after her whilst he snapped the sheets back into place on the clipboard.

Orihime came back to her senses enough to take a step back as the door opened.

The doctor walked past her, heading on to look for a nurse to update on Tatsuki's condition.

"Orihime-chan, how are you feeling?" Orihime's wide eyes slowly came round to look at Mrs Arisawa's face. She was looking at her gently, concerned. Her eyes were the same as Tatsuki's, except they had faint wrinkles at the edges.

Orihime felt herself flinch. _You shouldn't be asking me that. Please don't be concerned over me, I don't deserve it. This is all my fault._

Orihime couldn't find any words, so she tried to nod instead. But even that simple action didn't seem convincing.

Tatsuki's mother placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. "I'm glad you're okay. Don't worry so much." She nudged her head in the direction of Tatsuki. "She just has some bumps and bruises. But that's life." Her eyes crinkled sweetly as her smile broadened. Her face relaxed and she sighed. "She's just upset that she can't compete…it meant a lot to her…but there's always next year. Maybe you can talk some sense into her." She patted her shoulder before walking away, telling Orihime she had to make some calls.

Orihime's legs felt like they were about to give out. She couldn't move for the fear she would collapse if she did.

It was only when Tatsuki spoke up that she regained some feeling in her quivering limbs. "Hey Orihime, are you going to come in or are you just going to stand there looking like an idiot?" Tatsuki smiled at her uncertainly. She wanted to joke on like she normally did with Orihime…but it was probably too soon for joking around, the pretence of everything being 'normal' would be too painfully obvious.

Still, she smiled.

Orihime felt herself grimace as she hesitantly stepped into the room and walked over to Tatsuki's bed side. As she got closer she averted her eyes.

Her eyes fell upon the cast on Tatsuki's arm, and now that she was closer she saw how Tatsuki had been propped up straight because of her bruised ribs.

Her hand lifted from her side to cover her stomach, feeling sick again. As she did Tatsuki, using her good arm reached over and grabbed her wrist. Surprised Orihime looked at her, but swiftly looked away again as they made eye contact.

Tatsuki frowned. "Orihime, you don't still feel guilty about this do you?" Silence followed the question, and it was enough of an answer for Tatsuki. An angry noise came from her throat and she pulled Orihime's wrist to try and get her to look at her. When she didn't she spoke again. "Orihime please don't feel guilty. This wasn't your fault!" Orihime felt her eyes begin to prickle, she quickly blinked to get rid of any tears that were forming.

"I-it is my fault. If only I hadn't ran across that road!" She blinked faster as the tears fought to fall.

Tatsuki sighed. "Orihime, it was just a silly mistake. It's nothing to fret over I'm fine."

Orihime whipped around as the tears won the battle. "Yes Tatsuki, it was a _terrible _mistake that almost cost you your life. And now…now you can't compete because of me, and you'd been looking forward to it for so long!"

Tatsuki cringed as she watched Orihime's tears begin to rapidly drip from her chin. Orihime sniffed loudly and used her spare hand to rub at her face. Tatsuki chuckled which caused Orihime to look at her incredulously.

"Orihime…I don't care about that. As long as your safe and alive I'd do anything." She mimicked her mothers gentle smile. "No matter how many times, I would do it all over again." Orihime was about to argue back but Tatsuki laughed again. "Orihime, you understand right? Because you would do the same for me too." Orihime looked at her with her mouth open, her cheeks wet from her tears that had ceased to fall at Tatsku's words.

She closed her mouth as she thought about it. Tatsuki squeezed her hand that was still wrapped around her wrist.

Orihime looked down at her grasp. She slid her wrist out of Tatsuki's hold and grasped her hand with hers like she had the night before. She returned the squeeze as fresh tears began to fall.

"Of course I would."

* * *

Orihime stayed at the hospital until a nurse came to give Tatsuki a check up around lunch time, at which she bid farewell and left to go home, promising to visit the next day _after _going to school.

Deciding as she stepped outside into the chilly afternoon air that she could do with some time to think things over, she walked straight past the bus stop and down the path that would lead her onto her route home. She pulled her coat and her arms around her to keep her warm against the breezy air.

Seeing Tatsuki and speaking to her had made her feel somewhat better than how she had been feeling beforehand. But the guilt she felt wasn't something that could be easily erased with kind words.

But that wasn't her only problem.

As she walked her mind flicked between the image of a bloodied Tatsuki lying motionless on a cold concrete ground, and what she could do to prevent the reappearance of her hollow.

The thoughts repeatedly sent chills up her spine, causing her to wrap her arms around herself tighter each time.

Walking down an empty street she kicked a pile of leaves that had gathered near a lamp post, watching as they flew up, then slowly back down around her, the faded green and yellowing colours cascading and surrounding her for a moment as she tried to gather her thoughts.

The only way she could think to stop the hollow from showing again, was for her to be on a constant high of happiness. But her mind couldn't formulate a plan which consisted of her being in such a state. Being constantly happy was next to impossible. No. It _was _impossible.

Urahara's words came back to her then, "No matter how positive you are at the moment, eventually something will happen that will change that."

Orihime's brows knitted together as she groaned to herself, thinking just how his words rung true. Although she had put on a naïve front, she had known in the back of her mind that it was only a matter of time before something caused her confidence to crack, and not much more for it to break.

All it took was for Ichigo to show his evident preference of spending his time with Rukia and getting stronger for that first crack to show.

Her hands clenched her sides tightly. Was it so wrong for her to feel just a little bit angry? And slightly more than that, upset? Was she just being _too _selfish that she wanted nothing more than for him to spend some time with her, just once more? He had promised her that he would help her through this.

Orihime shook her head violently to try and disperse the unhelpful thoughts, but misery had already settled inside of her.

* * *

**A/N:** So I know there's no Ichigo in this chapter, sorry! But like I said this chapter had to be split into two because of it's length, so expect lots of Ichigo in the next chapter :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! So I told you chapter 8 would be up soon :D I had some free time today so I managed to finish it up!**_  
_

**Someone reviewed asking about the length of the story, FF isn't letting me reply for some reason, so I'll say it here that I have 13 planned chapters, but that could turn into more if I have to split any up - like I had to with chapter 7, you'll see why with the length of this chapter xD  
**

**Read on and I hope you enjoy!  
**

* * *

_And the hardest part of living,_

_Is just taking breaths to stay._

* * *

As soon as she arrived home she headed straight to the kitchen to get something to eat. Though she still didn't feel all that hungry, the noises her stomach was making protested otherwise.

Once she filled up on a bowl of cereal she grabbed a book from her sheld and headed over to her couch and collapsed upon it.

As she read, her eyes began to drift shut, her body giving in to the missed nights sleep. Just as she was about to slip into a deep slumber, the sensation of a familiar reiatsu swept over her, startling her and causing her to leap to her feet.

The usual sense of giddiness rose up like it always did before her misery pushed it swiftly back down. She flitted around the room trying to busy herself for a distraction. Panic set in as she felt his reiatsu growing closer, along with an unfamiliar heated emotion.

Just as she shoved her book back onto a shelf, there was a sharp knock on her door. She paused crouched in her position on the floor, debating to herself whether to even open the door. She didn't feel like seeing him right now.

Orihime shook her head and stood up. _Now isn't the time to be petty._ She treaded over to her door, taking a deep breath as she slid back the lock and pulled it open. It creaked lightly as daylight poured into her hall way.

Ichigo stood before her, his hand at the back of his neck as it always was whenever he felt uneasy.

"Hey Inoue," he smiled nervously at her. Her eyes narrowed slightly before she turned and walked back, making her way into the kitchen, leaving the door of her apartment open so that he could let himself in. _Okay so maybe I can be a little petty._

She heard him step inside after her closing the door behind him, before she sensed him standing hesitantly in the doorway of her kitchen, not knowing what to do with himself.

Orihime was on automatic pilot as she filled up her kettle with water from the kitchen tap. When there was enough water inside for two cups she placed it back on it's stand and flicked the switch on, watching as it glowed orange.

Ichigo cleared his throat as he rubbed the back of his neck. "So…how have you been?" Orihime glanced at him, an incredulous look flitted over her face for a moment before she quickly adjusted her expression to a normal one. He still caught it though. "Sorry…stupid question." He paused as he watched her pull out two cups and dropped a tea bag into each of them. "After I checked on Tatsuki last night I came to check on you, but you had already left." Silence filled the air as he waited to see if Orihime was going to say anything in reply.

Steamed poured out the top of the kettle before it pinged and the switch clicked back into it's off position. Orihime poured water into each of the cups then placed them on a tray, before picking it up and making her way to leave the kitchen.

Still not looking at Ichigo, he stumbled backwards as she walked straight towards him without asking him to move out the way. He watched her as she walked into her sitting room. She knelt down at her table with her back to him, then placed the tray down carefully. He couldn't help but frown. _Is she angry with me? _He slowly walked over and sat himself opposite her, watching her closely.

Her eyes were lowered as she took a cup off the tray, leaning over to place it in front of him, before taking the other cup and sitting back on her heels, wrapping her delicate fingers around the warm cup.

Her eyes showed tell tale signs of a missing nights sleep. Ichigo felt a stab of guilt. If she is mad, _I guess I deserve it._

He couldn't help but notice the vast difference between to the table they had shared just a couple of weeks ago at the school festival, and the table they were sharing now. He grimaced as he noted his absence probably contributed the most to the tense atmosphere that now lay between them.

Ichigo reached towards his own cup, picking it up and blowing at the steamy liquid to cool it. "Inoue…are you okay?" His question was serious. Her eyes slowly lifted to look into his questioning ones. He felt a horrible pang looking into her eyes. The shadows around them were more apparent when she looked at him, her eyes didn't smile at him like they normally did, instead they seemed cold…distant.

She closed her eyes and sighed. Her fingers pinched at the bridge of her nose.

"I could be worse. I couldn't sleep last night so I'm tired."

She replaced her hand where it had been around her cup, playing with the small ridges in the design.

Ichigo gave her a small sympathetic smile. "That's understandable. I was really worried when I didn't see you at school today."

Orihime couldn't suppress the incredulous laugh that left her mouth. Ichigo looked astonished before frowning.

"I mean it Inoue. I tried to leave school early to come see you but my homeroom teacher caught me and gave me detention. She watched me like a hawk for the whole day." His tone was insistant, she couldn't help but look back at him.

When she looked into his eyes she could feel the sincerity of his words. He looked at her the same way whenever he made her a promise.

As he continued to stare back into her eyes unfalteringly, Orihime began to feel uncomfortable under his gaze. She chugged down the rest of her tea then excused herself as she went to make herself another cup.

As she hurriedly got up she swept past the shelf in her sitting room, causing it to sway and items to fall onto the floor. Orihime groaned to herself as she turned to see the mess that now scattered the floor. She crouched down onto her knee's and began to pick up what she could before going to place it back on the shelf.

"Here, I'll help." Ichigo had gotten up and came over to help her clear up.

Orihime mumbled a thank you as she placed some books and photo frames back onto the shelf.

On his second round of gathering the fallen items, a bundle of coloured envelopes caught Ichigo's eye. His hand automatically reached over and picked up the top envelope, turning it over to reveal the front. He frowned down at the messy writing of Orihime's name that was barely readable surrounded by red scribbled hearts.

Gritting his teeth he picked up another envelope with similar writing on the front, then some pieces of folded paper, his scowl deepening as he continued to read Orihime's name written in numerous different hand writing. He felt a heated emotion ripping through him, his hands full of the letters began to shake.

When he could no longer hold any more of the paper, he shifted his gaze to Orihime who was picking up a pile of drawing pins that had spilled from a small plastic box.

"What are these?" He tried to keep his voice as emotionless as possible, but he knew he sounded angry.

Orihime's eyes lifted up to Ichigo's questioningly, before searching then focusing on what was in his hands.

He watched as her eyes widened in horror, her cheeks flushing as she quickly crawled forward and took the bundle of paper from his hands, shoving it all into a box that lay on it's side beside him.

Ichigo felt the anger grow as he saw that there were countless more love letters inside the box that Orihime was now trying to hastily shove a lid on and move out of sight.

"What is all of that?" Ichigo no longer cared how he sounded, he didn't try to restrain the emotions he was feeling at all.

Orihime made sure not to make eye contact with him. She carried the box into her room before returning, shutting the door carefully behind her.

Did she really have to answer? Wasn't it obvious what it was?

Orihime chose to ignore Ichigo's previous question, assuming that he would just drop the matter. She thought wrong.

He reached over ,still on his knee's and grabbed her wrist. She felt her body turn towards him, her startled eyes meeting his scowling ones.

"Inoue, why are you keeping all of those?" How many were there? He'd always known that Orihime drew a lot of attention in their school. The number of her admirers had increased as they had reached their third year.

But after seeing the sheer number of love letters he felt himself begin to worry. When had she become so popular? Why hadn't he noticed just how popular she was?

What had he been doing all this time?

She stuttered her reply. "B-because…I can't throw them away."

She tried to push his hand from her wrist, her embarrassment showing in her flushed cheeks with her head turned away, but there was no comparison between their strength.

"What do you mean you can't? It's pretty easy to just throw them out."

Orihime's struggling hand froze, her gaze turning to him.

"Kurosaki-kun, of course I can't throw them out."

He growled his response as he got to his feet, towering over her, not releasing his hold. "Of course you can."

Her eyebrows pulled together as she frowned up at him, "No I can't! Do you know how inconsiderate that is?"

"Inconsiderate? Inoue you don't even know them!"

Her eyebrows relaxed slightly as she tried to get him to understand. "So what? I can't treat other people's feelings so lightly!"

Ichigo felt a nerve snap at this, "Inoue, believe me most of these guys _feelings _aren't the innocent type you're making them out to be. They're only after one thing, and it's nothing innocent."

Orihime looked at him horrified. She finally managed to wrench her wrist from his grasp. "Kurosaki-kun how can you say that? You have no idea what it's like to have your love go unnoticed, it takes a lot for someone to lay their feelings out so bare for others to see. Besides, what right do you have to lecture me when you haven't even given me the courtesy of a conversation for almost three weeks." She felt her eyes prickle as they began to water. She was angry and hurt that he could make love out to be something so cheap and immature.

"_Heh heh. I guess he thinks that if he puts a toy down it will still be there when he wants to play with it again."_

Orihime felt herself freeze. She quickly looked up at Ichigo before remembering that he wasn't able to hear the voice. The image of her reflection in the hospital door's window came to the forefront of her mind. She immediately whipped herself around and walked towards her bedroom, hoping that Ichigo hadn't noticed a change in her eyes in the brief moment she looked at him.

Ichigo was surprised at her sudden absence for a second before he followed after her still scowling. She'd swung the door behind her but in her hurry to create some distance between them she hadn't pushed it hard enough and it was still open. Ichigo walked through the doorway, stopping a few meters from where she stood with her back to him.

"Inoue, I know exactly what it feels like to have your love go unnoticed, believe me. But it's because of love that I haven't been around lately…" Orihime felt herself gasp. Was he really saying this now? One hand went to her stomach as she felt it churn uncomfortably, her other pressed firmly over her eyes.

"_Well there you have it princess, he's pretty much just confirmed that he will never love you." _

Orihime's eyes watered as she tried to push he hollow back, but she could feel it clawing away at her from somewhere within her, continuing to rise up no matter how desperately she tried to suppress it.

Ichigo felt guilty looking at her shaking form. He stepped towards her. "Inoue…there's something I need to tell you."

"_Heh heh, here it is princess. A direct refusal. "I've been spending so much time with that puny shinigami because I love her. You can't even compare to her no matter how hard you try.""_

_Shut up!_

Ichigo reached out and gently touched her shoulder, wanting her to turn around and look at him.

Orihime's body spun around, but it was no longer Orihime who he was looking at. His breath caught in his throat as he flinched backwards. Orihime's face snarled at him viciously, her hands reached out taking advantage of his frozen stature to charge at him and push him down onto the ground. It took barely another second for him to feel himself being choked by a pair of hands that had wrapped themselves around his neck.

"You're going to die Shinigami!"

Ichigo's eyes snapped up at the sound of Orihime's voice that now sounded chilling, it seemed to reverberate around the room and throughout his body with each spoken word.

He felt himself as his eyes met with hers. Her eyes that were no longer brown. Instead her eyes seemed to glow an electric blue, contrasting against the onyx colour of her sclera.

He was completely taken by surprise. _What's going on? Is that…her hollow?_

"Bastard, where's Inoue?" Ichigo tried his best to shout out.

The hollow laughed down at him. "I've taken over that weak woman. But don't worry shinigami, by killing you I will end her suffering." Orihime's face was contorted into an unfamiliar sneer, her mouth was wide bearing her teeth as the hollow continued to snarl.

The hollow squeezed tighter on his throat, causing him to gasp for air.

_What do I do?_

He looked into those eyes that no longer looked familiar, searching…trying to find her. His gut wrenched as he searched harder. But he couldn't see her…and that scared him.

_What do I do? _

He tightened his grip on her wrists, inwardly apologising to her for hurting her and tried to pull her hands away futilely. She was stronger than he was in this state. He was struggling to catch his breath. He took in as much air as he could before he shouted to her.

"Orihime!"

Something snapped within Orihime. She fought with her hollow pushing her back to her place deep within.

He saw the black of her sclera recede slowly to it's usual white colour, her iris's becoming a darkened honey once more.

As her consciousness surfaced, her eyes widened in horror, her fingers becoming slack around his neck. She pulled her trembling hands away and stumbled backwards feeling the bile in her stomach start to churn.

Orihime's fingers pushed through her auburn hair, gripping her head as her eyes flickered over the scene before her. Ichigo was coughing and rubbing his neck that had turned red where her hands had been, resting up on the floor with one elbow.

Tears began to pour from her eyes. She couldn't believe it. What had she done?

What if she hadn't managed to come back? Ichigo probably could have died.

Ichigo looked up at Orihime who was becoming frantic, her breathing fastening as she panicked.

"Inoue…" she looked into his eyes, unable to read his expression in her state.

All Ichigo could see was how scared she was, he knew he had to reassure her right now. He steadily rose to his feet and stepped towards her, but she backed away from him, terrified. He felt himself freeze.

"Inoue…" he began again but she sniffed loudly.

"Get out." She managed to choke out through her tears. Ichigo blinked, stunned.

She couldn't possibly think that he would leave her like this. He stepped towards her again, but her fear of hurting him caused her to panic more and get angry. "Get out now!"

Ichigo had never heard her shout like that before and it sent chills through him. But he still didn't want to leave.

As he made to take another step Orihime summoned Santen Kesshun and began to use it as a shield to push him away.

"Inoue! Wait!" Ichigo shouted to her helplessly. She scrunched her eyes shut and turned her head away. "Don't push me out!" He tried to push against the barrier but it sparked where he touched it, giving his hand a shock. Ichigo heard the door of her apartment click open, turning his head he saw one of the Shun Shun Rikka hovering around the door as the other two pulled it open. The next thing he knew he was on the floor outside of her apartment. The door slammed shut and the lock clicked once more.

Ichigo clumsily rushed back to his feet, his balled up fist meeting with her door causing it to shake.

"Inoue! Inoue please! Please let me in!" He continued to bang on her door. His voice was steadily becoming desperate with worry.

Orihime curled into a ball in the corner of her room, hugging her trembling body close to her legs as she covered her ears and rocked herself slowly. She couldn't bear to hear his pleading voice.

* * *

Ichigo had banged on Orihime's door until his knuckles were rubbed raw. He had shouted until his voice had become rough and hoarse. Forcing the last of the words he could muster, his voice sounding raspy, he had called through her door telling her that he wasn't leaving until she let him in.

He'd let himself slump against the door, watching as daylight turned to dusk, and dusk turned into night. He had no idea how much time had passed, but the next thing he knew he was being shaken roughly.

His eyes squinted blearily in the daylight, noticing a blurry figure standing over him.

"..go….Ichigo!"

He rubbed his eyes hard with the heels of his palms that felt ice cold. He rubbed his hands together, the friction causing them to warm slightly as his eyes came into focus.

The first thing he noticed was the violet eyes that were flaring down at him with a mixture of anger and anxiety. He felt himself being shaken again as the person in front of him became impatient with how long he was taking to come around.

"Ichigo! Wake up right now!" Ichigo felt himself cringe away at the volume of the voice.

"Geez, shut up already I'm up." Ichigo looked around to get his bearings. Why was he half sitting half lying on the cold concrete of an apartment landing? He scratched his head as he propped himself up on the wall behind him.

Rukia's death grip on his jacket began to shake with her impatience. She felt her teeth grit as she scowled.

"Ichigo! What the hell happened? Tell me right now what is wrong with Inoue!" Ichigo returned her scowl whilst looking confused.

"Huh? What're you…" Ichigo's hand paused at the back of his head, his eyes opened wide as everything came back to him. He scrambled to his feet in a matter of seconds, catching Rukia by surprise who stumbled, nearly tripping over him. She released her grip on him and used her hands to catch herself against the wall before she fell over.

Ichigo turned towards Orihime's door, immediately moving to bang his fist against it. He flinched as the forgotten injury on his knuckles burned from the raw skin.

"She's not in there." He froze in place as the steady words of his friend reached his ears. Quickly searching he realised that she was right. Orihime's reiatsu was no longer within range of his new sensing capabilities.

He whipped around to face Rukia, his scowl still in place but worry pooling heavily in the pit of his stomach.

Ichigo swallowed thickly. "Where is she?"

Rukia surveyed him. She wanted him to explain the situation to her first, but she could tell by his desperate and angry expression that the explanation would have to wait.

She released a calming breath, "She's at Urahara's. She's been there for a while." Ichigo silently turned on the spot, striding towards the steps that would lead him down to the street below. "Ichigo, she's asked Urahara to open the senkaimon gate," she paused, "she's going to Soul Society."

Ichigo felt himself turn to stone, his head slowly turned to face her, his eyes wide in shock. "Wh-what? What do you mean she's going to Soul Society?"

"I mean exactly that. Ichigo. I don't know what's going on, but Inoue was a mess when I saw her before. All she said to me was, "Tell Kurosaki-kun that I am sorry." Ichigo…what happened?" Rukia groaned anxiously. She hated not knowing what was going on with her friends, especially when it was obviously something so serious.

Ichigo turned once more, this time his strides had broke into a run. Rukia faltered before regaining her composure and jumped over the railing of the apartment complex to land right in front of her human companion who had just reached the street below. She frowned deeply at him.

Opening her mouth to scorn him, he cut her off. "Please Rukia, this can wait. I need to get to Inoue right now!" He was scowling but his eyes pleaded with her. Rukia felt her stance soften. Giving in she stepped to the side.

He ran straight past her, his destination set, his time limited.

* * *

It took him just under five minutes to reach the Urahara shop. He ran at a break neck speed, shouting apologies to people as he carelessly rushed into them.

_If Inoue has been there for a while already then the gate will almost be open. _Ichigo cursed under his breath as he made his way through the shop, then down the stairs to the underground training room.

In the distance he could see two figures conversing before the gaping black hole that was the senkaimon gate. He instantly recognised Orihime's long auburn locks that flowed down her back. Her head was bowed as Urahara spoke to her, his hat shadowing his eyes, his expression solemn.

As he came to a stop, Urahara looked up as he Ichigo came into his line of sight. Orihime flinched as she felt Ichigo's flaring reiatsu reach her.

Ichigo bent his back slightly, gripping his knee's as he fought to catch his breath.

"Inoue…what are you doing?" His voice was still hoarse from his shouting the previous day. He ignored the ache in his throat, determined to be heard.

She didn't reply. Her body stood stock still, the colour of her hair and her outfit contrasting against the swirling black abyss that was open in front of her.

He tried again. "Inoue. Where are you going? What are you doing?"

Knowing that he wasn't going to give up without an answer, she finally replied. "I'm going to Soul Society….to train with Hirako-kun."

Her voice sounded cold, distant…unlike anything he had ever heard from her before.

He laughed nervously. "Inoue…don't be silly. Just come back over here and we can talk about this. I'm sorry I haven't been there like I said I would be. But I promise, things will be different now."

Silence followed his pleading words.

Urahara pulled his hat down and stepped to the side as if to give them some privacy.

In the back of his mind Ichigo was begging her to turn around, he wanted to see her face. It was selfish but he always felt some sort of comfort when he looked at her.

He was determined to help her. "Inoue if you go, you know that I'm just going to go after you."

He heard her sigh, as if she was annoyed and it caused him to flinch. "Kurosaki-kun, you won't be able to. I've already discussed that possibility with Urahara-san." Orihime's voice stayed emotionless, her words like a statement.

Ichigo turned to Urahara now who was stood by a rock to the side.

Urahara avoided Ichigo's eyes, his own were darkened by the shadow cast by the brim of his hat.

"Kurosaki-san, I'm afraid that I can't let you follow Inoue-san. You know how serious her situation is, therefore at this point what she wants is first priority to help her get through this."

Ichigo scowled at him.

Did they think that he would get in the way? Did they think that he wanted anything _but _to help her?

He returned his gaze to the back of Orihime. "I'll go to Soul Society even without your help, I'll find a way."

Orihime spoke again, her voice sounding slightly angry now. "Don't follow me."

Ichigo felt his teeth grit together, his own voice pleading now. "Then don't walk away from me."

Silence followed. Urahara waited patiently at the sidelines, his eyes closed as he bore witness to scene in front of him.

Orihime felt a tear finally fall down her face. She swallowed hard as she tried to keep her voice from breaking. "Goodbye Kurosaki-kun."

Ichigo took a sharp intake of breath as he saw her step into the pitch black hole. Just as she disappeared he heard her final whispered words.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

_And I can live without you but,_

_Without you I'll be miserable at best._

* * *

**A/N:** :( It made me sad to even write this. But I hope I wrote this right.


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